The Precious Little Girl Who Glowed
by blueSKIES247
Summary: "Volunteering is not allowed, dear." —How Prim and Peeta win the Hunger Games, how Prim and Haymitch defeat the Quarter Quell, how Prim becomes the face of the rebellion, and how everything turns out the same in the end.
1. glowing (the hunger games)

**i. glowing**  
(the hunger games)

When Primrose Everdeen's name is called, all of District 12 falls deadly silent. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. Or, more precisely, a heart break.

Katniss watches her little sister slowly make her way up to the stage, with her braided pigtails and her loose duck tail and the softly trembling lip she's trying to hide, and Katniss feels her world shatter. She runs after her—even after the Peacekeepers restrain her, she's still running—and she's screaming, yelling, fighting, crying, _Prim come back, please don't take her, I volunteer as tribute, take me instead, just let her come back._

Prim is so young; her name is only in there once. First-year reapings are always the cruelest.

Then, Effie Trinkett's sharp, saccharine voice:

"Volunteering is not allowed, dear."

Then, Gale comes up behind Katniss, wraps his arms around her waist, lifts her swiftly off her running feet, and carries her away.

Then, Prim doesn't come back.

-::-

When Peeta Mellark's name is called, all of District 12 falls deadly silent. No one tries to volunteer in his place. No one makes a sound.

-::-

They let family visit the tributes for a last goodbye. Katniss holds Prim's face into her hands.

"You're going to win this thing, okay? You're going to win the Hunger Games and you're going to come home. I don't care if the other tributes are bigger, older, stronger. You're small and you're quick, Prim, and that's an advantage. If anyone tries to kill you, you just run as fast as you can. Do that for me, okay Prim? You're going to live. Oh Prim, you're going to live."

Prim smiles a teary, beautiful smile.

"I'm going to live."

-::-

Peeta is quite surprised when Katniss Everdeen barges into his room. The Peacekeepers are calling for her to leave, visiting is over, but she doesn't listen. She walks straight up to him, grabs a fistful of his shirt, and pulls him close until their faces are practically touching.

"Protect my sister."

And then she's gone, leaving him standing there, heart pounding fast and the front of his shirt still wrinkled.

-::-

During the entire train ride to the Capitol, Effie goes over the schedule at least seventeen times, Haymitch remains drunk into oblivion, and Peeta and Prim feel very awkward not knowing where to sit, what to touch, what to eat. It's strange, being treated to such luxuries after being selected for the worst fate. Peeta can't help thinking all the delicacies are like a prisoner's last meal.

One morning, as Effie and Haymitch bicker over his perpetual drunkenness, Peeta senses that Prim is staring at him but whenever he turns his head, she's always looking away. Finally, on the fifth try, he catches her staring.

Her beautiful blue eyes widen and she blushes, but she doesn't look away this time.

Peeta makes a face, imitating Effie, and Prim laughs.

That's the exact moment when Peeta Mellark and Primrose Everdeen become friends.

-::-

Cinna and Portia had something brilliant planned for the parade, but after realizing District 12's female tribute is much smaller than anticipated, Cinna flew into a frenzy working on a new, even _more_ brilliant plan.

After hours of prepping, Peeta and Prim arrive at their designated chariot wearing what appear to be black unitards. Cinna simply looks at his work with pride.

"I can't believe I didn't realize this before. The tributes always wear _matching_ outfits. But we want to stand out. We want to capture everyone's attention right on District 12. No, your outfits will _complement _each other. You'll see."

Suddenly, Prim's black suit is turning red, then brighter and brighter until she's glowing. Next to her, Peeta's suit ignites in dazzling flames.

"Originally, you were both going to be on fire. But Primrose is too sweet to be adorned in flames. Primrose, you are ember, coal glowing hot. Peeta, you are fire, coal burning bright. District 12, you are so much more than coal miners, you are bringers of light."

With Cinna's magnificent costumes, Peeta and Prim ride into the finale of the parade. He grabs a hold of her small hand.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

And then there they are, the bringers of light, the tributes from District 12, lighting up the big screen as all eyes turn to them. Peeta gives one small wave to the audience and they cheer loudly in response. He gives Prim an encouraging nod for her to do the same. Prim is so shocked, nervous, and overwhelmed, she can only manage to smile. But all Prim needs to do is give one small adorable smile to the audience and their hearts melt.

That night, the only thing anyone in the Capitol can talk about is the boy on fire and the precious little girl who glowed.

-::-

They train and it becomes very evident that Prim cannot hold any weapons. Mostly because she's not strong enough to use a knife or dagger or bow, but also because seeing cute little Primrose Everdeen in possession of a weapon makes you want to cry. Even the specialized trainers at the weapon stations take pity and often watch her struggle with sad eyes.

After Prim nearly injures herself trying to shoot an arrow ("Like my sister Katniss does, yeah?") Peeta ends her martial training and ushers her to the other stations. Trap-making, knot-tying, camouflage-painting, poisonous-plant-identifying.

"It's okay, Prim. There are different ways to go about the games. You don't need the knives. If you master these stuff, you could hide out eating berries something and just outlive everyone else to win."

She laughs and looks up at him with her young, innocent eyes. "Thanks, Peeta. You're really nice to me."

Peeta smiles back and walks away, remembering a certain promise back home. _Protect my sister_.

He trains twice as hard, to make up for Prim.

-::-

Usually, all the tributes keep to themselves, because ultimately, it's everyone versus everyone and who would want to make friends with the person that will eventually cut their throat? It makes the eventual killing more difficult.

But here's the thing.

It's impossible to hate Primrose Everdeen.

Somehow, she squeezes her way into everyone's hearts. Glimmer kisses Prim's cheek whenever she walks by and the two wear matching braids in their blonde hair. Cato lets Prim sit on his shoulders and the two stomp around like one gigantic monster, making everyone else laugh. Rue and Prim become best friends, walking with linked arms like two twelve-year-old girls who have so much more to live for.

-::-

The girl who glowed steals even more hearts at her interview.

"I've had so much fun the past few days training with the other tributes. I know that's weird for me to say, but it's true."

Before her compassion could get mistaken for weakness, Caesar Flickerman quickly steps in.

"But you're still going to try to win the games, right?"

"Of course. I'm going to win. I'm going to live."

-::-

The boy on fire doesn't do too shabby either at the interview; he and Haymitch have one last trick up their sleeves.

Caesar, helpful as always, steers the conversation in the right direction. He suggest Peeta win the games, go back to District 12, and win the heart of that special girl he's in love with.

"I can't. She will never forgive me if I was the one who went back home, instead of her little sister."

-::-

(Back in District 12, Katniss's jaw drops when she watches the live broadcast of Peeta's interview. She thinks back to that fateful night when Peeta gave her the bread, she thinks back to the day of the Reaping when she basically demanded Peeta to give up his own life to save Prim's, and she thinks that maybe she owes Peeta Mellark too much.)

-::-

Run for the forest. Run straight for the forest, don't grab anything, don't look back.

Peeta makes it all the way to the trees when he goes against Haymitch's instructions. He looks back. There's bloodshed at the Cornucopia where the Careers have annihilated the unlucky tributes who didn't run fast enough. Peeta quickly scans the forest for blonde pigtails.

Then, a loud shriek that pierces right through Peeta's heart.

It's Prim.

Oh God, it's Prim.

He sprints back towards the Cornucopia. They had everything planned—run straight for the forest and then Peeta and Prim will meet up and he can protect her until the bitter end. All she had to do was get from her starting platform to the trees, that's all she had to do. But someone got to her, maybe she tripped, and now she's killed and it's all Peeta's fault. It was only a minute into the games. He couldn't even protect her for a minute.

But when Peeta runs back to the clearing, his heart leaps because he sees that Prim is alive. She had indeed fallen and the boy from District 9 had tried to attack in her moment of weakness. By some miracle, she had dodged his knife just in time, rolling over on the grass. But now the boy is back up and raising his arm to stab Prim again. She screams a second time. Peeta is completely helpless as he watches, wishing furiously that he had never listened to Haymitch and grabbed a weapon when he had the chance.

Just as the boy from District 9 is about to kill Prim, he falls over, headfirst into the grass. A dagger is sticking up from his back.

A few yards away, Clove grins at having hit her shot. She rushes over and kicks the dead body aside, retrieving her dagger. Cato arrives and helps lift Prim back to her feet. Prim looks between the two of them, confused. The bloodbath is over. The Careers have conquered the Cornucopia, just like always. Volunteering isn't allowed, but some districts are favored by the Capitol and Careers often rig the reapings. Glimmer and Marvel from District 1, Clove and Cato from District 2, the boy from District 3, the girl from District 4, and now Prim are the only ones still alive.

Everyone else is either dead or fled.

Peeta slowly inches back towards the trees, hoping not to attract the Careers' attention. He does, however, catch Prim's attention. Her eyes widen when she sees him in the shadows. She quickly glances at the others in the Career pack to make sure they aren't watching, and then mouths a single word to Peeta.

_Run._

-::-

The faces flash by on the night sky and Prim exhales in relief when Peeta is not shown. Later, the Careers discuss strategy and the order in which they'll kill the remaining tributes. When they rank "that lover boy from 12" third on the list, Prim bites her tongue and says nothing. That night, the Careers force the boy from District 3 to watch guard and they fall asleep in their makeshift tent beside the tall pile of supplies they'd stacked earlier in the afternoon.

Prim couldn't fall asleep though, so she ventures over and sits on a crate, watching the boy from District 3 dig out the bombs, rewire them, and bury them around the supply pile. She doesn't even think he notices her until he suddenly starts talking to her. The silence of the night is so quiet that even though the boy is only whispering, it's deafening:

"You should run away."

"…what?"

"Look, you and I, we don't belong here. We're not really part of the Careers alliance. When have the Careers ever included anyone from District 3 or 12?"

"Um, I don't know. So why are we here then?"

"They only need me to plant the mines. I'm good with explosives. That's the only thing keeping me alive right now."

"But what about me? I'm not good at anything."

She's been wondering that ever since morning, when twelve tributes were murdered and yet she was spared.

"Sure you are. You make them happy. You make everyone happy. And that's really powerful because the Hunger Games is not a happy place. That's the only thing keeping you alive right now. You're Cato's favorite."

"Then why should I run away? If Cato likes me, he'll keep me safe."

"No one is safe here, Prim. The Careers will keep you around for now, but in the end, there will only be one victor. If you stay here, you're just an easy kill."

"They'll kill _you_, too."

But then Glimmer stirs in her sleep and Prim and the boy promptly stop talking.

-::-

The first night is horrible for Peeta. No supplies, no weapons, no water. No Prim.

He's about to fall asleep, hungry, cold, and exhausted, when suddenly there is an orange light in the darkness. He looks to his right and sees a small fire. The girl from District 8 is holding her hands against the small flame. He tries really hard to resist the urge to walk over and join her, but his hands are frozen and numb from the cold, so he reluctantly approaches the girl.

"You know, you're going to get yourself killed. That fire's a dead giveaway."

The girl looks up at him with a blank expression.

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

He walks away, grabs as many fallen branches and twigs as he can find, and returns, feeding some kindling into the fire and putting the rest aside in a pile. The girl smiles, just a little.

They both drift in and out of sleep the whole night. Neither trusts the other, but they're both not strong enough to kill each other without any weapons, and at least two is better than one, so they form the weakest alliance of last-resort measures.

Early next morning, Peeta awakes and wanders into the forest to gather more firewood.

A loud scream, followed by a cannon.

He drops all the branches and races back to their campsite. The girl from District 8 is sprawled on the ground, a sword in her stomach and the wound still pouring out blood. He can still hear the retreating footsteps of the merciless Careers. Peeta falls to his knees and feels all kinds of remorse. That's twice he's failed already. He couldn't save Prim and now he couldn't save…oh god, he doesn't even know her name.

Before the hovercraft can take away her corpse, Peeta gently shuts her eyes and pulls the sword from her body. The Careers probably left the weapon thinking the girl was alone, and they probably have swords to spare. But that would be their first mistake, because the girl's death will not be in vain.

With the end of the short-lived, weakest alliance of last-resort measures, Peeta journeys on, further into the forest, bloodstained sword in tow.

-::-

Prim and the boy from District 3 get left behind to guard the camp when the Careers head out before sunrise to track the fool who lit a fire. The cannon sounds not too long after and Prim keeps all her fingers crossed that the fool is not Peeta.

The boy comes up and puts a hand on Prim's shoulder.

"You should go now. Before they come back."

"Will you come with me?"

"No, I can't. I haven't finished with the bombs yet."

"But if I go and you stay, they'll kill you the second they come back."

So, Prim doesn't go.

-::-

Two more days pass and Peeta only manages to find a small pond of water. He drinks it thirstily, washes his sword, and then spends the rest of the time being a complete bore by just sitting against a tree. He knows back home, Katniss is probably cursing his name to eternity for leaving Prim and he knows he needs to rescue her from the Careers, but for the life of him he cannot come up with a feasible plan. Plus, he's starving.

Just when he's about to pass out from hunger, a small grey parachute arrives. Looks like he scored some sponsors after all. Pulling apart the container, he finds a single loaf of bread. Bread for the Bread Boy. Somewhere, Haymitch Abernathy is laughing hysterically.

But underneath the bread is a small piece of paper. Peeta holds it up to the light to read the two words.

_Watch out._

And that's when the first of the fireballs comes flying in Peeta's direction.

-::-

Prim and the boy from District 3 spend their days sitting around the Cornucopia waiting for the Careers. The Careers never take them along because they're weak and bad fighters and would only slow the process. Thus, Prim and the boy have lots of time to talk. She learns that his name is Kenton, he's fourteen years old, his dying mother didn't want him to apply for tesserae but he did for her sake, and then he got reaped the very next year. And Prim concludes that every tribute is a tragedy and it's impossible to justify who deserves to live more.

Suddenly, there's movement in the branches of a nearby tree, the disturbance causing a flock of birds to scatter into the sky. Kenton is immediately on his feet, loads an arrow into a bow, and aims at the tree.

"Who's there?"

Prim and Kenton slowly inch forwards. Luckily, Prim is the first to spot the big brown doe eyes hiding among the leaves.

"Wait, don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

She holds up a hand, motioning for Kenton to stop. Then Prim walks towards the tree and looks up to where Rue is standing on a high branch. Prim beams and beckons her friend to come down. She tells Rue to avoid the mines and treats Rue to some fruits in their supply stash. Kenton reluctantly puts down his bow.

"Prim, you can't be an ally to _everyone_."

-::-

The three of them devise a plan. If the bombs are already planted, why not use them against the Careers?

Rue will go find Peeta and bring him to the Cornucopia. When they're near, she will sing the four-note tune and the mockingjays will carry it over to Prim and Kenton. Meanwhile, Prim and Kenton wait for the Careers to return to camp. Once they've fallen asleep, Prim and Kenton will get far enough away before Kenton activates the bombs, which will explode the supply pile and the Careers.

It's a flawless plan. Until Cato insists on staying up and keeping watch that night.

-::-

Peeta sprints through the forest while the flames chase after him, burning his leg. He is curious where the wall of fire is herding him, when he practically runs into Thresh. Thresh's back is turned, so Peeta quickly scrambles to hide behind a tree, ignoring the horrible pain in his leg.

Thresh may not have seen Peeta, but he does _hear _Peeta. He slowly turns about the forest, like a patient beast stalking his prey. Peeta wills himself to hold his breath, even though his lungs are screaming for air. He can sense Thresh getting closer, so he tightens his grip on his sword, ready to put up one last fight.

Out of nowhere, Rue appears before Peeta. She holds a finger up to her lips to shush him. Then, she pretends to trip and fall.

At the sound of Rue's fall, Thresh pounces but relaxes once he sees it's only Rue. He sighs and ruffles her hair.

"You be careful now, kid. Next time, it won't be me, it'll be one of those Careers. And they'll kill you in a heartbeat."

Rue nods. She waits until Thresh has walked out of sight before she goes back to Peeta. It's only then that Peeta realizes Rue just saved his life. She smiles at Peeta, grabs his hand, and starts leading him the opposite direction Thresh had gone.

"Come with me. We're going to Prim."

-::-

The others are all asleep but Cato stands vigilant, no sign that he'll fall asleep anytime soon. Prim and Kenton share a worried look as they lie next to each other, feigning sleep. The quiet night air fills with the soft singing of mockingjays in the distinct four-note tune. Rue and Peeta are here. What are they going to do?

Prim suddenly sits up, stricken with an idea. She nudges Kenton once and then walks over to Cato.

"Primrose? What are you doing up?"

"The mockingjays woke me and I'm hungry."

She grabs two apples and throws one to Cato. They eat it together under the moonlight. She stands at just the right angle so that she's facing the supply stack and the sleeping Careers, and Cato has his back towards them. Kenton finally gets the gist of Prim's improvised plan and he sneaks away. Cato, oblivious to Kenton's actions, keeps talking to Prim:

"You know, we were talking today, and the others wanted to kill you now rather than later, before we got too attached to you. But don't worry, Primrose. I didn't let them. I told them if anyone wanted to kill you, they'll have to go through me."

"Really? Thanks, Cato. That's…you don't have to do that."

"Yes I do. Listen, you want to know a secret? I had a little sister who looked just like you. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a precious smile. Sometimes, when you laugh, it sounds just like her."

"Is she back in District 2?"

The mockingjays sing the four-note tune again, as if urging them to hurry it up already. Prim takes a subtle step backwards away from the bombs. She has to keep distracting Cato in order for Kenton to activate the bombs. Cato is standing pretty far away so he'll probably survive, but at least the bombs should kill the other four Careers. She just hopes Kenton will set off the bombs already.

"No. My sister…she's dead."

"Oh. I'm so sorry. What happened?"

"She got sick, really, really sick and the doctors couldn't cure her. I swore I would protect her always, but the sickness was the one thing I couldn't protect her against."

Cato actually tears up a bit and Prim feels great sympathy for him. Underneath this tough Career exterior is a broken soul who only wants to protect Prim like he never could protect his own sister.

And then the bombs detonate, abruptly cutting short all sentimentality. The pile of supplies explodes, the sleeping Careers are tossed into the air, and Cato dives forward to shelter Prim with his body. Prim is so moved by Cato's act that she feels immensely guilty since she is partially responsible for the explosion. But before she can say anything, Cato is storming after Kenton, who is running away into the forest but not running fast enough.

"You fucking bastard, what did you _do_?!"

Cato catches Kenton. Cato was never supposed to catch Kenton. But now Kenton's fate is inevitable and right before Cato snaps Kenton's neck, Kenton manages to shout:

"Prim, _GO_!"

She didn't need to be told twice. She dashes into the forest. Cato is preoccupied killing Kenton, so by the time he turns around, Prim has already disappeared into the trees. He tosses Kenton's limp body onto the ground and shouts in rage. Clove is wailing, smoke still permeates the air, and there's blood, blood everywhere.

Prim keeps running until she runs into Peeta's arms. He takes both Prim and Rue by the hand and the three escape into the night. Only when they reach a safe distance away do they stop. Prim collapses, buries her head in Peeta's lap and sobs. She cries because Kenton is dead, the poor boy from District 3 with the sick mother. She cries because Cato trusted her and she betrayed him, the poor boy from District 2 who only wanted to protect innocent little sisters. She cries because three cannons sound and that's three tragedies without a happy ending. She cries because _you can't be an ally to everyone._

That night, Prim, Peeta, and Rue sleep huddled together in a small cave. The anthem plays and three faces project onto the sky—Kenton, Glimmer, and the girl from District 4.

-::-

Peeta's burn wounds worsen overnight and he's got a fever and a cough, so Prim and Rue play doctor for the next two days. All Prim has to do is glance up at the sky and parachutes come floating down with medicine, ointment, gauze strips, even a thermos of soup. It's like all the sponsors Prim wooed over were just waiting for something like this to happen so they could shower the little girl who glowed with stuff.

Now that the stockpile of food has been blasted into smithereens, the Careers no longer have the advantage. All the remaining tributes must fend for themselves and make do with only what is in the forest. Which puts Primrose Everdeen in the advantage since she is the only one who spent the majority of her training studying traps and edible berries. Peeta, Prim, and Rue spend their days sitting in the shelter of the cave and sharing stories as if this was some sunshine summer camp. Prim and Rue would poke fun of Peeta's crush on Katniss and Peeta would blush and the girls would giggle and all of Panem would sigh at the heartwarming sight.

The sunshine summer camp illusion quickly fades when a cannon goes off and the boy from District 10 is gone.

-::-

"Rule change: If the two last remaining tributes are from the same district, both shall be crowned victors."

-::-

In the end, Rue has to go.

It breaks Prim's heart and Peeta has to literally hold her back with all his strength, but in the end, Rue has to go.

In the end, Rue is not from District 12. Rue is not Katniss Everdeen's little sister. Rue is not Peeta's responsibility.

In the end, you can't be an ally to everyone.

-::-

The day after the announcement and Rue's departure, Peeta and Prim are out setting traps for squirrels when a flock of mockingjays fly by, carrying Rue's four-note melody. Prim smiles, because she thinks that's Rue's way of saying she's still okay, but Peeta is worried because the mockingjays were flying so frantically, like they were fleeing something.

Two seconds later, there's the sharp, shrill cry of a little girl hurt. Since it doesn't come from Prim, it has to be Rue.

Peeta and Prim drop everything and run in the direction of the scream. They find Rue, entangled in a giant net. Thresh is nowhere in sight, so either Rue never found her partner or they split up temporarily but Peeta and Prim don't really want to think about that right now. Rue is struggling against the heavy net, so Peeta and Prim quickly bend down to try to help her. Just as Peeta finds the opening of the net and is about to lift it over Rue's head, Rue's large brown eyes open wide as she stares at something behind Peeta and Prim.

"Look out—!"

The spear is thrown from behind, grazes Peeta's right shoulder, and pierces right through Rue's stomach.

Prim lets out a bloodcurdling scream, Rue is bleeding profusely, and Peeta spins around to find Marvel standing with a malicious grin. The grin would be his first mistake. Only carrying one weapon—which is currently in Rue's dying body—would be his second mistake.

Outraged, Peeta immediately draws his sword and walks up to Marvel. The Career just laughs and holds his arms out wide, as if to say what's the worse this petty, injured District 12 kid could do?

Underestimating Peeta Mellark would be his last mistake.

Ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder, Peeta stabs Marvel right in the stomach to avenge Rue and the girl from District 8. He hears Marvel gasp, pulls the sword out, and turns away before Marvel could even fall onto the ground.

Peeta helps Prim pull the net off of Rue. The wound from Marvel's spear is fatal; Prim keeps trying to stem the bleeding and help Rue up but Peeta just shakes his head because he knows there is nothing more they can do. With a shaky hand, Rue grasps onto Prim.

"You have to win now."

Rue's eyes flutter shut and her breathing slows. Unable to think of any other way to comfort her dying friend, Prim sings the lullaby Katniss used to sing to her, the song that made her feel safe and sound. Peeta gathers nearby flowers and weaves them through Rue's hair so that by the time the hovercraft arrives to retrieve her body, Rue appears like a sleeping princess, not a victim of these cruel games.

Two cannons go off. Peeta and Prim stand and walk away, hand in hand. A parachute lands in Prim's hands—a loaf of District 11 bread and a small note.

_Thank you._

Together, the two look up and hold up three fingers to the sky.

-::-

(Across the districts, the rebellious underbelly of Panem rises and holds up three fingers back.)

-::-

After Peeta and Prim make it back to the cave, she tends his shoulder wound and neither want to say it but it looks really bad. Prim makes do with the rest of the medical supplies, applies every last drop of nursing knowledge she'd picked up from her mother throughout the years, and tries to help Peeta the best she can. But when morning rolls around, the bandage is soaked red. It's blood poisoning.

Suddenly, the games take a turn for the worse. Peeta and Prim were planning on winning by simply outlasting the other tributes, but that could take _days_. And Peeta doesn't have _days_.

-::-

"Special announcement: there will be a Feast at the Cornucopia tomorrow morning and tributes will find the thing they most desperately need."

-::-

They're yelling at each other.

"You're not going, Prim!"

"But obviously you can't go. You're too sick. Right now, I'm faster and stronger than you. I have to go."

"No!"

"You heard them, Peeta! They will give us the thing we most desperately need. They'll have medicine for your arm. If we don't get that medicine soon, you'll…"

"And if you go out there, by yourself, you'll be killed before you even make it to the Cornucopia. You're not going! That's final."

"So what, we just sit here and wait?! If you…if you die from blood poisoning, then I'll be alone. Shouldn't I go now, when you're still alive and there's still a chance to cure you, than later when you're gone and there's no use for the medicine anymore? Why are you so stubborn? I'm trying to help!"

"Because I PROMISED! I promised Katniss I would protect you and I've already lost you to the Careers once. As long as I'm still breathing, I will _not _let you walk into any danger!"

They stare at each other until the anger evaporates. She sits back down beside him and hugs his chest, silent tears falling onto his shirt. He sighs and holds her tight. It's just not fair.

He decides to tell her the story of how he first fell in love with Katniss, how his father had pointed Katniss out on the first day of school, how his father had wanted to marry her mother, how her mother ran away with the man whose singing made the birds listen, how Katniss inherited that mesmerizing voice, how Peeta admired Katniss from afar, how he gave her the bread that rainy night, and how the first and only words Katniss Everdeen has ever spoken to him was _protect my sister_.

Peeta laughs a little at his pathetic, unrequited love. But Prim thinks it is wonderfully romantic and when Peeta leans down to kiss her on the forehead, she thinks she loves him.

A parachute comes down after Peeta finishes his story. Prim retrieves it and finds a bottle of sleep syrup.

"What is it, Prim?"

She hesitates and looks back at Peeta, the boy she thinks she loves, the boy who loves her older sister, the boy who would die protecting her. And she thinks it's about time someone started protecting him.

"It's fever medicine."

-::-

(Mrs. Everdeen has to look away from the screen. Hearing Peeta's story just about broke her. It's just that Peeta looks so much like his father and Prim looks so much like Mrs. Everdeen herself and seeing the two of them together is like seeing the echo of a life she could've had but threw away, a long time ago.)

-::-

Peeta wakes up to the midday sun.

It wasn't fever medicine.

And Prim is gone.

-::-

The first rays of sun are just spreading across the sky. Prim crouches down in her hiding spot among the shrubs surrounding the Cornucopia and waits. The second the Gamemakers drop off the Feast, she's going to run across and grab it. She'll run as fast as she can and pray that'll be enough.

The hovercraft appears and drops four bags in front of the Cornucopia, each with the District numbers 2, 5, 11, and 12. Just as Prim is about to run for it, the girl from District 5, the girl with red hair and sharp features like a fox, sprints from inside the Cornucopia, grabs her bag, and dashes into the forest before the hovercraft is even gone. So _that's _the other tribute still left alive. Maybe Foxface's strategy is to hide out and let the others forget about her.

Now it's Prim's turn as she launches herself across the clearing to the Cornucopia. But twenty yards away from the bags, Prim gets tackled and falls harshly onto the grass. The attacker pins her to the ground, holds a dagger up to her face, and there's no mistake. It's Clove.

"You tried to kill us. I fucking saved your life and that's how you repay me? How dare you betray us like that?! You may be Cato's precious little pet, but guess what? I'm not Cato. Cato isn't here. And I have no problem with killing innocent little girls."

Even as Clove's knife digs into the skin on Prim's forehead and she can feel blood running down her face, Prim feels a pang in her chest for Clove. Yeah, it's a little twisted to sympathize with the person trying to murder you, but Prim can't help it. She stares into Clove's dark, desolate eyes and sees nothing but a callused exterior that masks the true misery of this broken girl from District 2. Training all her life to be a Career, to play the Hunger Games. To die.

Clove has no problem with killing innocent little girls because she used to be one.

"Sorry to hear about your little friend, Prim. But don't worry. You can join her soon. I wonder if you'll scream as loud as she did—"

Just as Clove lifts her dagger to finish Prim once and for all, an arm sweeps in out of nowhere and pulls Clove right off Prim. Prim sits up and sees that it's Thresh, throwing up against the side of the Cornucopia. Clove's body dangles helplessly from Thresh's death grip around her neck. He is so large and she is so tiny, she looks like a rag doll in his strong hands. He hollers into her face, asking _did you kill Rue? DID YOU KILL RUE? _All the while Clove is desperately calling for Cato, her Cato, Cato who doesn't come.

Prim scrambles to her feet, snatches the District 12 bag, and runs away as fast as she can. But not fast enough to escape the loud _crack _as Clove's head gets smashed in and the cannon fires.

With Clove and Rue both dead, that leaves Prim and Peeta as the only pair left.

-::-

The medicine inside the bag does wonders and Peeta is back on his feet again. But then, the stuff inside the bags do wonders for all the tributes and everyone is revitalized and back in action. Another cannon goes off, and when it's Thresh's face that appears overhead, both Prim and Peeta feel sick to their stomachs. It's down to the final four now. And if Cato is desperate and vicious enough to defeat Thresh…

Peeta and Prim leave the shelter of their cave and start their trek back towards the Cornucopia.

"We can't hide out for too long. The Gamemakers want to see action. We don't want them to throw fireballs at us again."

Well, there are no fireballs this time. No, turns out, the Gamemakers have a much better idea.

-::-

They hear Cato before they hear the wolves. And at first, Peeta holds up his sword in defense, thinking Cato has come to kill them. But Cato comes leaping out of the woods and runs right past Peeta and his drawn sword. Cato quickly grabs Prim by the hand and pulls her along after him.

"Run! Just run!"

Peeta peers in the direction Cato came from, wondering what could possibly be so menacing that even sends Cato running for the hills. Then the girl from District 5 comes scrambling through the forest. And that's when Peeta sees them. The mutant wolves, a whole pack of them, chasing after the skinny fox-faced girl.

Prim is calling for him, so Peeta turns around and runs after her and Cato. He reaches the open clearing in the middle of the arena when the girl from District 5 cries out. Peeta winces, but keeps going, not daring to turn around, because he knows it's already too late. The cannon fires not too long after.

Cato and Prim have already climbed on top of the Cornucopia. Peeta has just pulled himself up when the muttations catch up and one of them bites into Peeta's leg. There's a lot of tugging, kicking, screaming, fighting, but in the end, Peeta manages to pull himself onto the roof of the Cornucopia away from the bloodthirsty mutant wolves below.

But that doesn't mean it's any safer up here. Peeta is immediately back on his feet, putting his weight on his good leg, and pointing his sword at Cato. Cato, who obviously knew what was coming, grabs Prim around the neck and holds her over the edge of the Cornucopia. He glares threateningly at Peeta.

"You take one step closer and she dies."

-::-

(All of District 12, and all of Panem for that matter, simultaneously suck in a breath. No one dares to breathe again as they sit on the edge of their seats, waiting to see the fate of the girl who glowed. Katniss grips Gale's hand so hard, her knuckles turn white and he loses feeling of his fingers but still they hold on.)

(_Please Prim, hold on._)

-::-

Prim is gasping for breath, legs kicking in midair, arms wrapped around Cato's, struggling to pull herself back up. Underneath her dangling body, the muttations howl hungrily.

Peeta and Cato stare at each other, unmoving. This is it. In the end, it comes down to these two, two teenage boys with their own shares of despair and shattered dreams, forced to be enemies because the odds were not in their favor. After a long moment, Peeta takes the biggest gamble of his life. He takes a step closer.

And Prim doesn't die.

"You can't do it, can you? You can't kill her."

Peeta takes another step. Then another. Cato tries to keep his composure, but his arms are shaking, his heart is breaking, and he slowly sets Prim back on the ledge. She collapses on the metal roof, clutching her neck and taking in raspy breaths.

Cato just shakes his head, gives one deflated laugh, and falls to his knees in front of Peeta, holding his arms out in full surrender.

"It's all pointless, isn't it? I've killed so many people already. I could very easily kill you, right now. All I know is to kill. But in the end, it doesn't matter. Because I can kill every other tribute ten times over but I _still _won't win unless I kill Primrose. And I could never do that. Every time I look at Primrose, I see my own little sister with that same smile and those eyes. How could I kill her? How could I watch her die, again? So, just kill me. I could never win these games."

What Cato does next shocks Peeta, Prim, the Gamemakers, President Snow, and all of Panem.

He reaches forward, grabs the sword out of Peeta's hands, and stabs it right into his own stomach. He commits suicide.

Cato falls backwards, his blood rapidly pooling around him. Prim hurries to his side and doubles over, sobbing into Cato's chest. He just died for her. This boy she's only known for a few weeks just gave his life for her. And others will look back at Cato and think he's just another hotheaded Career who killed without mercy, but he is so much more than that. He the greatest older brother Prim never had.

"It's all over now, Primrose. I couldn't save my sister, but I sure as hell am going to save you."

Prim holds Cato in her arms until he finally dies. The last cannon of the 74th Hunger Games. Then she kisses his forehead and steps back with Peeta. Two hovercrafts now appear, one to take Cato away, and one to welcome the new victors from District 12.

They don't celebrate their win, they don't laugh, they don't even smile. They just walk aboard the hovercraft, sit down, and remain deadly silent. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. Or, more precisely, two hearts break.

-::-

The train ride home is brutal. Every night, Prim wakes up screaming from nightmares of Cato and Rue and Kenton, dying before her very eyes. Every night, she creeps into Peeta's room and he lets her climb into his bed and he soothingly rubs her back like Katniss used to do.

When they arrive home, it's a teary reunion as Prim and Peeta finally stumble into the security of family. Across the crowd, Katniss catches Peeta's eye. She smiles and nods, a silent thank you.

But the nightmares still haunt Prim and she still wakes up screaming. No twelve-year-old girl should ever have to go through that amount of trauma and the aftermath is disastrous. Sometimes, Prim is delirious and believes she is still in the games. Sometimes, Prim thinks a big part of her died back in the arena along with all the other tributes.

She asks Haymitch if the nightmares ever go away. He says they don't. Not ever.

-::-

(And out there, the rebellious underbelly of Panem is stirring. Oppressed for all these decades, the agitation among the districts have been constantly building up and it required one precious little girl who glowed for everything to boil over. The revolution has begun. And once it starts, it doesn't stop. Not ever.)


	2. fighting (catching fire)

**ii. fighting**  
(catching fire)

In a way, life is better after the games.

District 12 always has enough food to eat. The Everdeens and the Mellarks get to live in the luxurious Victor's Village with Haymitch and it's nice. Sometimes, Peeta and Katniss will run into each other and they'll exchange a few words and it's a little awkward and much too polite, but they're friends now. Katniss can't help but be nice to him. And other times, Mr. Mellark and Mrs. Everdeen will run into each other and they can't look each other in the eye.

Gale kisses Katniss one day in the woods and asks her to be his girlfriend. She says yes. The entire district saw it coming. Even Peeta saw it coming. That doesn't make it hurt any less.

But the games really had an impact on Prim. All the vivacity of a thirteen-year-old girl had been sucked right out of her. She isn't the precious little girl who glowed anymore. She's the empty little girl whose soul had been brutally extinguished. Prim now spends her days sitting inside the house, staring out the window with a hollow expression and dark circles under her eyes, because the nightmares are endless and she fears sleep. Buttercup likes to settle at Prim's feet and constantly nudge her to get her to pet him, but she only ignores him now. Nothing excites her now. Katniss has to feed the ugly cat out of pity.

It seemed like the games were just over but now they have to prepare for the Victory Tour. Peeta and Prim learn that it's never going to be over, not really. There will always be more cameras and more fake smiles and more stupid acts to put on for the stupid Capitol.

Peeta sees Katniss and Gale walking around laughing and holding hands and every kiss stabs Peeta in the heart. He's gone and won the Hunger Games, even confessed his love on live television broadcasted to the entire nation, but he still doesn't get the girl in the end. On the most difficult days, he walks over to the Everdeen's house and sits down next to Prim by the window.

Usually, he doesn't say anything and the two victors sit in silence. Once, he asks her a question:

"Was it worth it?"

She responds without hesitation, without taking her eyes off the window pane.

"No."

In a way, life is better after the games.

In another way, life is much worse.

-::-

On the Victory Tour, they dress Prim and Peeta up and cake so much make-up on her face to hide the dark circles, but it's still not the same. Can the people tell she's only a shell of the precious little girl she used to be?

Effie and Haymitch keep a constant stream of advice and instructions. _Smile, hold your head up, look happy, rehearse the speech, keep the speech polite and vague and nice, smile and be nice, don't anger the Capitol, be thankful for winning the games, don't criticize the Hunger Games, smile, don't criticize, don't cause trouble, let them love you, just smile, come on Primrose, dear, remember to smile! _But nothing makes Prim smile anymore. When she sees the family of the other tributes, she can only think that Rue died and Kenton died and Cato and Clove and Glimmer and Thresh all died while Prim and Peeta survived and it's not fair, the Hunger Games are vile, twisted, and malicious, and Prim hates the Capitol, she hates President Snow, she hates him so much.

She smiled for them once. She will never smile for them again.

Effie is concerned Prim's depressed state and lack of cooperation will get them all in trouble. Haymitch is certain they are already in trouble. Prim still sits awake all night and wakes up screaming whenever she does drift asleep. Peeta always goes to see if she's okay. She never is. As Peeta holds her, he wonders what would've happened if Katniss had been allowed to volunteer for Prim instead; poor Prim wouldn't be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and maybe Katniss wouldn't be in love with Gale right now.

-::-

(After they leave District 11, a man whistles the four-note tune and everyone holds up three fingers. A Peacekeeper shoots the first man in the head. In response, everyone begins whistling the four-note tune until the sound is ubiquitous, coming from all directions, like a flock of relentless mockingjays. They surround the Peacekeepers, holding power in numbers, and they fight. District 11 becomes the first district to rebel and they start a revolution.)

-::-

Prim is outraged when she discovers it's customary for Capitol citizens to drink the clear liquid in order to vomit and make room for more food. She hears Peeta approach her from behind, so she picks up one of the glasses to tell him about this horrible thing.

"Can you believe it? They actually _voluntarily vomit _because they have too much food to eat, while we've been starving ourselves every winter down at the Seam. I just want to—"

But when she turns around, it's not Peeta after all. It's Plutarch Havensbee, the new Head Gamemaker. He looks at her with a knowing grin.

"Careful now. You don't want to say anything bad about the Capitol."

"So what if I do?"

Plutarch raises his eyebrows in surprise or maybe amusement. And something inside Prim just snaps. It's as if she drank the clear liquid and now the words rise like vomit, rolling past the tip of her tongue uncontrollably:

"I hate the Capitol. I hate President Snow. I hate him so much."

There are some lines you cross in life where you can never go back, some things you say in life that you can never take back. Hating the president is one of them.

This is the point of no return.

She expects Plutarch to tattle and call the guards. She expects Effie to come running at her, in full hysterics, reprimanding her intolerable behavior. She expects them to take her away and lock her up. She doesn't expect Plutarch to chuckle and pull out his pocket watch. The light reflects off the glass surface of the watch and reveals an outline of a bird. Prim doesn't understand. Her words were pure treachery and this man is simply showing her the time.

"It begins at midnight."

"…what?"

He puts his watch away and gives her one last secretive smile.

"Primrose Everdeen, I don't think you realize how important you are."

-::-

(District 8 becomes the second district to rebel.)

-::-

They return home to District 12 from the tour and everything is back to normal, for while. Well, everything except for the fact that Katniss and Gale are avoiding each other. Not that it's any of Peeta's business, but he still rejoices a little on the inside. He feels slightly awful about it, but only slightly.

One day, he catches up to her when she goes for a walk and asks her if something had happened while he and Prim were away.

"Gale asked me to marry him."

"Oh."

"And I said no."

"_Oh._"

"It's just, I'm only seventeen! Isn't this moving a little too fast? Yes, we've known each other for years and he's my best friend, but we've only been dating for a few months. I don't even know if I love him yet. How can he be so sure that he loves me? That he wants to spend the rest of his life with me?"

"That's not so difficult. I mean, it's _you_."

"What?"

"Gale is so lucky to have you. Can you really blame him for wanting to hold onto you before he loses you to someone else?"

The second those words left his mouth, he wishes he could retract them. Katniss stops in her tracks and turns to face him. Her eyes are soft and she looks at him with this subdued expression like she's only just remembered that Peeta is kind of in love with her too.

They are interrupted by a loud sound in the square. Something is evidently going on, because a huge crowd has gathered. Loud sound repeats in a steady rhythm and echoes across the square, like a…like a…

…whip.

They push through to the front of the crowd.

The color drains from Peeta's face.

One more whip of the lash.

Katniss screams.

There, in the middle of the square, a Peacekeeper is violently whipping two bent-over bodies—Gale and Prim.

They get Gale and Prim up to Mrs. Everdeen and she treats their bleeding backs with snow and medicine. Gale, who had moved to cover Prim and take her lashes several times before the Peacekeepers tied him down, had significantly more wounds than Prim. When he sees Katniss, he reaches for her, then groans in the pain from extending his arm. Katniss quickly goes to him and holds his hand in both of hers.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. Prim convinced me to let her come into the forest to hunt. I figured if she could survive the Hunger Games, she could handle the woods. I needed the help carrying the game back. I didn't think…There are new Peacekeepers here now. They saw us with the turkey we hunted. I'm so sorry. I should never have taken Prim with me. It's all my fault."

"Oh Gale. But why didn't you just ask me to hunt with you?"

"I thought you were mad at me."

Now Katniss is crying. She leans down and kisses Gale on the forehead.

"I'm not mad at you. I…I _love_ you."

Peeta watches the exchange from the other side of the room. The way Katniss is looking at Gale, like he is hers and she is his and anything else is unthinkable, Peeta just knows he has lost all hope.

-::-

The next morning, Haymitch and Peeta run into the Everdeens' house and turn on the television. Katniss and her mother quickly come to see what the commotion is about. Gale and Prim are still lying on their cots in the living room.

They quickly understand what Haymitch is trying to show them. Playing on the screen is footage of yesterday's whipping, with the camera zooming right in on Primrose and the blood staining through her blue dress. Mrs. Everdeen, who had been spared witnessing the actual whipping, gasps and breaks down crying, _oh my poor baby girl, what have they done to you?_ Peeta quickly turns the screen off again.

"But why would they broadcast this?"

Haymitch strokes his chin, covered in the stubble he hasn't shaved since last week. He has a half-empty bottle of whisky in one hand from which he takes a long swig before answering.

"To teach all of Panem a lesson. Ever since the last Hunger Games, there has been talk of rebellion. Snow is showing us that he won't think twice about punishing a victor, even someone young and innocent like Prim. He's using fear to solidify his regime."

Gale laughs one short, dry laugh. Haymitch, mid-drink, sets his bottle down and turns to face him.

"What's so funny, boy?"

"Well, don't you see? Snow has it all wrong. Showing us the video of a Peacekeeper whipping Prim won't scare us into submission. No, it's only going to feed the flame. Everyone loves Prim. So when all the rebels out there see this video of Prim being whipped until she's unconscious, it'll rile their blood and they will all rise up to avenge Prim. If Snow is trying to prevent a rebellion, he has just made the biggest mistake of his life."

Prim, who had been silent, spoke up for the first time.

"No. Snow is only doing this to punish me."

She finally tells everyone about her encounter with Plutarch at the feast in the Capitol. She tells them the dangerous, dangerous words she spoke aloud: _I hate the Capitol. I hate President Snow. I hate him so much. _She tells them that she thinks Plutarch must have reported her words and that's why Snow sent the new Peacekeepers to District 12, and that's why Prim got whipped in public, and that's why the footage was broadcasted nationwide.

Katniss falls to her knees beside her little sister.

"Prim, why would you ever say something like that?"

"Because it's the truth."

Prim's face remains grim and set. Look at what the games have done. It broke Katniss's little sister and turned her into a soldier.

Haymitch now paces the room, cursing under his breath. He downs the rest of the bottle and kneels down next to Katniss, so he is face to face with Prim.

"Oh Prim, you don't understand. You've already got Snow anxious after your performance in the games and now you've gone and personally denounced him. But this is only the start of his punishment for you. Snow definitely has more planned for you, and I don't look forward to finding out what they are."

-::-

(Gale is right in one aspect though. The video did incite the rebels and District 4, District 6, and District 7 all had uprisings following the broadcast. The Capitol begins sending bombers. It is more and more difficult to hide the rebellions from the rest of the districts.)

-::-

Two weeks later, Katniss meets Bonnie and Twill in the forest. She learns about the mockingjay, about District 13, and about the widespread uprisings. For the first time, she learns that everything her sister and Peeta did might not have been for naught. For the first time, she learns that matters are bigger than she ever imagined.

She tells Gale and Prim, and he tells them about the whispers of rebellion down in the mines and he and Prim end up staying up all night, lying in their adjacent cots, talking about hypothetical plans for a District 12 uprising and how they can take down the Capitol.

She tells Haymitch, and he only nods absentmindedly and she realizes he's known about the rebellions all along.

She tells Peeta, and he suggests they all run away to District 13 too. She smiles wistfully because she had initially thought the same.

"Does that make us horrible people? That we'd rather run away than rebel?"

"No. Some people are born fighters and some people are born survivors. It doesn't make us any less significant."

-::-

The winter passes relatively peacefully.

Prim and Gale's backs heal, but each whip of the lash leaves a deep, red scar. Prim's soft, ivory skin now looks like a sloppy cross-weaving of misery and injustice. Peeta couldn't bear watching Prim waste another month staring blankly out the window again, so he gathers all his art supplies and teaches her how to paint. They spend the winter covering every wall in both their houses with illustrations. She can't really explain it, but when she's painting with Peeta, she feels happy and _herself _again, for the first time since the Hunger Games. And she knows it's stupid, so very stupid, and he's seventeen and she's only thirteen and he probably still sees her as a child, but Prim thinks she's in love with Peeta Mellark.

Katniss agrees to marry Gale and the long-awaited engagement becomes the talk of the district. They set the wedding for summer after next. But Gale is busy all the time. When he is not working down in the mines, he is meeting with fellow young revolutionaries in back rooms of houses, organizing an insurrection. Katniss spends lonely nights wondering if she is marrying Gale because she actually loves him or because that is what everyone else expects her to do. If it's the latter, than it's stupid, so very stupid. She doesn't _have _to be in love with Gale. She could be in love with Peeta Mellark.

-::-

(District 3 becomes the sixth district to rebel. Panem is now officially torn in half. District 12 still remains on the half that is loyal to the Capitol, although just barely.)

(Just in time for the 75th Hunger Games.)

-::-

Months after Haymitch's prediction, he is proven correct. Snow did indeed have more planned for Prim, the absolute worst trick up his sleeve.

He announces the Quarter Quell: the tributes will be reaped from the existing pool of victors.

Primrose Everdeen will be forced to go back to the arena.

After President Snow's announcement, the screen turns black, yet no one speaks a word. Everyone falls deadly silent. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. Or, more precisely, a nation of hearts break.

-::-

(Somewhere, a group of rebels and victors gathers together in secret correspondence and starts planning.)

-::-

The night before the Reaping, Peeta hears a knock on his bedroom door and finds Katniss standing with a meek smile. She doesn't barge in, doesn't grab a fistful of his shirt, doesn't threaten him to protect her sister like last time. Instead she slowly walks closer and wraps her arms around him. He immediately returns the embrace and holds her tight.

"Good luck, Peeta."

Maybe it's because it's the eve of the Reaping, maybe it's because Peeta figures he might never have another chance, maybe it's because he hasn't lost all hope after all. Maybe it's because he doesn't want to die without kissing Katniss Everdeen at least once.

Somehow, his lips find hers and he is kissing her and his brain stops functioning and his heart beats right out of his chest because _he is kissing Katniss Everdeen. _He knows he shouldn't, he knows that she loves Gale, but for a moment, none of that matters. He simply kisses her urgently and holds onto her before he can lose her to someone else.

-::-

Prim's fate was determined the minute President Snow announced the Quarter Quell. She is the only female victor from District 12.

But there are _two _male victors from District 12. For once in his life, the odds are in Peeta's favor. Because when Effie draws out the strip of paper, she calls out Haymitch Abernathy's name.

And, as you know, volunteering is not allowed.

-::-

With Haymitch returning to the games as one of the tributes, that leaves Peeta to assume the role of mentor by default. The entire train ride, Effie is beside herself trying to recoup and create a new plan of action. She scribbles notes and rearranges the schedule and crosses things out in vicious strokes, all while mumbling under her breath, _it just had to be Haymitch, why couldn't it be the boy, they all already like the boy, who is going to sponsor an ugly, old drunkard?_

Between Effie's mad ramblings and scheduling and rewatching old Hunger Games footage to analyze the competition, Peeta barely has a minute to himself. But the first second Peeta is alone, Haymitch grabs him by the arm and drags him into Peeta's room, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Okay, listen up, Peeta. You're the mentor now. Don't worry about Prim, I'll be in the arena with her and I'll take care of her. But you have to do all the rest."

Peeta wonders why Haymitch is being so serious. Peeta understands what the mentor's responsibilities are: help discuss strategy, make the tributes look good, persuade sponsors to help during the games. But judging for the forlorn expression on Haymitch's face, Peeta is beginning to think that there is way more to it than he previously thought.

"Peeta, I'm afraid there are things I haven't told you."

And Haymitch explains everything. How the rumors they've heard about the uprisings and District 13 are true. How they are planning to break the tributes out of the game before the end of the Quell by destroying the shield around the arena. How this will inevitably lead to war. How this will be dangerous and people will die but they must fight. Simply surviving is no longer an option.

"Most importantly, you must not tell a word about this to Prim."

"Why not?"

"Because when we ultimately destroy the arena, the Capitol will try to capture the tributes before we can save them. And the first person they'll go for is Prim. If she is taken, they will try to torture information out of her. The less she knows, the safer she is. We can't afford to lose her. She's the face of the rebllion. She's out last hope."

-::-

Being back in the Capitol, back in the dressing rooms, and back onto the chariots for the Opening Ceremonies brings back all the memories, just as Prim was so close to recovering from them. She is literally about to relive the very nightmares that have haunted her for the past year. She wants to say she feels numb. She has lived through the games before. The games have already taken her heart and her compassion and murdered her soul back in the arena along with the twenty-two other tributes. But she made it out alive, and that's more than you can say about the others. She wants to say she feels numb, but if she's honest, she'll say she feels even more terrified than last time.

She sees Haymitch and Peeta whispering quietly between themselves, with their heads bent toward each other. They think Prim doesn't notice, but she does. The two of them are keeping secrets from her. Finally, the morning of their first day of training, Prim confronts them about it over breakfast. Effie, for once, doesn't know what to say. Haymitch gets up from the table, mutters something about meeting them downstairs, and leaves. Peeta sighs and gives Prim a feeble smile. He takes her hand and leads her to the couch to explain.

"I guess it's my turn to give you advice now. You know what you're going to do this time, Prim? You've won the games once before."

"And I learn from my mistakes. You can't be an ally to everyone. You only get hurt in the end. So this time, I won't be an ally to anyone."

Peeta's eyes widen when he hears Prim's words. He quickly shakes his head.

"No, no, Prim, that's the _opposite _of what you're going to do. You're going to go out there and be allies with _everyone_."

She blinks a few times, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"Everyone? But how…?"

"You said it yourself, President Snow created the rules for the Quarter Quell to try to punish you. You managed to beat the game last year and turned half the nation against the Capitol at the same time. Snow doesn't want you to get away with it. Are you just going to let him win?"

"Well, no."

"This isn't an ordinary Hunger Games. All the other tributes are previous victors, like us. They all know how awful the Capitol really is. They all hate President Snow too. You have more in common than you'd think. Come on, Prim. I know somewhere inside, you're still the same girl who stole everyone's hearts last summer. You managed to become allies with the Careers, remember?! If anyone can bring them all together, it's you."

Effie makes a curt shriek when she sees the time. She hurriedly ushers Prim towards the elevator. After Effie jabs the ground floor button, just before the elevator doors shut, Prim frantically calls out to Peeta again:

"I still don't understand."

"Don't worry, you will. Just trust me."

And how could she not?

-::-

During training, Prim is thoroughly intimidated. These tributes are so much stronger, faster, wiser than last year. Prim observes, knowing every spear thrown and every arrow aimed was once enough to win the games. Haymitch has twenty-five years worth of alcohol to work off, but Prim is amazed to see him lift tremendous weights and heave them halfway across the room.

At lunch, Haymitch introduces Prim to some of the other tributes who are friends with him. She meets Finnick and Annie from District 4, Johanna and Blight from District 7, and Chaff and Seeder from District 11. Prim is slightly overwhelmed at first with all the new faces, but they all seem extremely friendly. Chaff and Finnick even pick her up and jokingly parade her around the table, carrying her on their shoulders, speaking in rubbish, posh Capitol accents. She doesn't think she has laughed this hard in a long time. She doesn't think she has seen Haymitch laugh this hard _ever_.

Being allies with everyone might be easier than she thought.

-::-

Peeta is in way over his head. While the tributes are training, he visits with Plutarch and the other mentors from the districts that are part of the rebellion. Everyone else is so much older, more experienced, and more knowledgeable, making Peeta feel largely inadequate. One thing is for sure—Peeta had grotesquely underestimated Haymitch and now he is incapable of filling his shoes.

They are finalizing plans for how to rescue the tributes. It's impossible to set a precise date and time for the rescue to occur. They must take into account the events of the game, President Snow and the rebellion, as well as the logistics of maneuvering a hovercraft over the arena. Furthermore, how can they communicate with the tributes after the games have begun?

"We can send them bread."

The conversation abruptly comes to a halt and everyone turns to look at Peeta.

"Each district has a distinct type of bread. So whichever district's bread we send can be code for which day we are going to rescue them. Oh, and the number of rolls of bread can be code for which hour in the day. No one else will be suspicious because they'll think it's just generous sponsors sending bread."

Everyone is still staring at him. Oh god, what if they all think his idea is stupid?

Then Mags mumbles something incoherent, but it seems like she's agreeing with Peeta. Soon, several of the others are nodding along until everyone unanimously decides to use Peeta's idea.

The Bread Boy saves the day.

Planning a top-secret rescue mission might be easier than he thought.

-::-

Slowly but surely, Prim squeezes her way into everyone's hearts again. She forgets how to be cold and remembers how to love.

Finnick shows Prim how to tie intricate sailor knots and calls her _pretty flower. _Johanna is tough and apathetic but she is also the only one who doesn't treat Prim like she is still a little kid. Wiress and Beetee from District 3 are awkward, twitchy, and soft-spoken, but Prim discovers they actually have lots to say if only she listens. The morphlings from District 6 don't comprehend what is happening most of the time and like to hang out by the camouflage station to play with the paints. Prim sometimes joins them and lets them cover her arms in swirls and flowers. Seeder and Chaff share happy stories about Rue that makes Prim smile. Cecelia from District 8 kisses Prim on the forehead, exactly like how Prim's mother does.

The Careers from Districts 1 and 2 don't trust Prim—or really anyone from the other districts, but especially Prim—because of how she betrayed the Careers during the last Hunger Games. Except Gloss, who lets Prim sit beside him while he practices throwing daggers and tells her about his childhood spent training for the games, how his parents rigged the reaping for him, and his famed life after being crowned victor. He kind of reminds Prim of Cato, and it kind of breaks her heart.

But Prim's favorite is Annie Cresta. Beautiful Annie, who went mad after winning the games five years ago. She talks in a gently, sing-song voice and when she gets scared, she squeezes her eyes shut and covers her ears with her hands. She comes to training everyday with the other tributes, but she never trains, never touches a single weapon. Instead, she just sits to the side and watches. When Prim walks by, Annie always smiles and waves. The afternoon on their final day of training, Annie beckons Prim over and pats the spot on the floor beside her. Annie weaves a thousand intricate braids into Prim's long blonde hair while humming an old nursery song from back home.

_Be allies with everyone_, Peeta said. Well, she's done just that. Now that she thinks about it, though, it was almost too easy. Like she didn't even have to really try. Everyone already seemed anxious to be allies with her.

"Annie? Why are you so nice to me?"

"I like you."

Maybe that's true for Annie and Finnick and Cecelia, but Prim doesn't think Johanna or Blight or Woof actually like her. Yet they are all nice to her.

"Why is everyone so nice to me?"

"You're the youngest. You're Primrose Everdeen. We have to protect you."

-::-

The secret meetings get larger and larger. More mentors and tributes arrive, stating they want to join the alliance. First, it was only Districts 4, 7, 11, and 12. Then, Districts 3 and 8 join. Next comes District 6; the mentor explains that the morphlings probably won't be much help, yet they insisted on being allies with Prim. By the end, even the tributes from districts that hadn't rebelled against the Capitol are joining the Quarter Quell Effort. District 9, District 10, and finally District 5. Every district except for 1 and 2, the Careers, are now working together as a team.

Peeta thinks it's partly because it's a noble clause and mostly because word got out that they were planning a rescue mission and all the tributes simply want to be saved. Regardless the reason, it's still unbelievable that they accomplished such a union.

Technically, if all the tributes form an alliance and refuse to fight one another, there will be no Hunger Games. That would be the ultimate rebellion against President Snow. But in order to pull off such a plan, it will require a lot of courage to put down your weapon and a lot of trust in others to not kill you while you're vulnerable. Surely someone has thought of this idea before, yet not once in the 74 year history of the Hunger Games has such an alliance been achieved. That has to mean something, right?

-::-

For the interview, Cinna designs for Prim a short, simple black and red halter-top dress. He pulls all her hair into a high bun and applies an ample amount of eyeliner, making Prim look older and more sophisticated.

"We are no longer going for the precious look. Primrose Everdeen, you are not a little girl anymore. And it's time we showed the new you."

Prim walks up to the mirror and inspects her reflection. Yes, the hair and makeup is flawless as usual and yes, the dress is beautiful, but it all seems so understated and so unlike Cinna. That's when Prim turns to the side and catches sight of the back of the dress. Or the lack thereof.

The halter dress connects behind her neck in a thin metal band and then scoops down very low, exposing her entire back. Her entire _scar-covered_ back.

Oh, Cinna is a genius.

-::-

And when Caesar compliments Prim's dress and she stands up and gives a nice, slow twirl, the audience is a whole new kind of speechless.

-::-

All the tributes return to the stage at the end of the interviews. Haymitch wraps one arm around Prim's shoulders and gives her a smile. That gives her an idea. She wraps one arm around Haymitch's waist and her other arm around Chaff, who is standing on the other side of her. Chaff, understanding what Prim is trying to do, quickly puts his arm around Seeder. And down the line it goes, district by district. The Careers are reluctant at first, but Gloss throws his arms around Cashmere and Enobaria, so the others finally oblige as well, although not so much to show unity but to not be the odd ones out.

There they stand on stage, unprecedented, all the tributes arm in arm. No longer twenty-four competitors, but one team.

-::-

(A million rebels watching the broadcast shout in triumph, holding their fists up in the air.)

(One president watching the broadcast clenches his fists, so hard his knuckles turn white.)

-::-

Ascending the plate to the arena at the start of the Quell, Prim feels confident. She's made so many friends and so many allies. Plus, she has Haymitch. _Just find me and run to me, _he told her that morning. _Find me first before you do anything else. Worry about the Careers and the other allies later. Do you hear me, Prim? Just run to me. _

She takes a deep breath. She can do this. Just like last time, right?

Wrong.

Because last time, Peacekeepers didn't come in and kill Cinna in front of her.

Because last time, she was on land.

This time, before she can even get over the shock of Cinna's death, she finds herself surrounded by a large body of water and the only thing she can think of is the fact that she doesn't know how to swim.

The games begin. Immediately, bodies dive into the water in a series of splashes. Prim squints against the sun and tries to see which swimmer is Haymitch. Finnick is the fastest swimmer and the first to reach the Cornucopia in the middle of the water. He barely has time to grab a trident from the pile when the Careers arrive. Despite joining arms with the rest of the tributes on stage, the Careers were still intent on defeating the rest of them, so a universal alliance is definitely out of question. For a few scary seconds, Finnick fights all four Careers by himself in a very uneven battle. Then, Chaff, Seeder, Blight, and Haymitch swim to shore and rush to aid Finnick.

Prim feels desperately hopeless standing on her platform. She notices that she is the only one left and everyone else is swimming. Even Wiress is sloppily paddling through the water. Prim wants to scream for Haymitch to come rescue her, but he is preoccupied dodging Brutus's dagger. Maybe she can convince the Careers to change their minds and join the alliance. At least she has to try. She needs to get to the Cornucopia. She is losing valuable time. So, with one shaky breath, she plunges into the water.

The water is warm. Prim kicks ferociously and makes big strokes with her arms, but her actions only seem to pull her down, down, down. There is water filling her lungs and she thinks this just might be the stupidest, most pathetic, most ineffective way to lose the Hunger Games: drowning less than five minutes into the game.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wraps around Prim's flailing body and pulls up her to the surface. Prim takes a huge intake of air and sees that her savior is Annie. Together, the two of swim to shore all the while Annie whispers soothingly, _it's okay, I got you, Primrose, it's okay, it's okay now. _Exhausted from her failed attempt at swimming, Prim rests her head against the crook of Annie's neck and tries to regain her breath.

Prim and Annie are the last to arrive on at the Cornucopia. After she drags her body up onto the sand, Prim is shocked to find Cashmere and Gloss backed up against the side of the Cornucopia, surrounded by Finnick, Haymitch, Chaff, Woof, Johanna, and Blight. Another group of tributes, including Wiress, Beetee, Wiress, and Cecelia, are a ways away scavenging the Cornucopia. The female morphling is crying over the dead body of the male morphling. Around them, five other bodies lay dead as a result of the bloodbath Prim had evidently missed altogether: both tributes from District 9, the District 10 female, Enobaria, and Seeder. Brutus was nowhere to be found. (Haymitch later explains that Brutus retreated into the jungle after Johanna violently killed Enobaria with an axe.)Brutus

Although the Careers are stronger than the rest, there is vast power in numbers and this time, the Careers are greatly outnumbered.

Finnick, Haymitch, and the others are just about to kill off the two Careers when Prim stops them:

"No, wait! Don't kill them! Please, don't kill them."

Prim squeezes her way into the circle and stands between the allied tributes and the Careers, spreading her arms out as if to shield Cashmere and Gloss.

Johanna shakes her head pitifully at Prim.

"Careers can't be trusted. Look, they've already killed!"

"So let's not have any more killings then. Please, just put your weapons down. No one else is going to die. I won't allow it!"."

Prim's voice rises steadily in volume until she is yelling at the end. Everyone is slightly taken back. One by one, they put down their swords and axes. Cashmere and Gloss both sigh in relief. However, Finnick grabs a pile of rope.

"Okay, fine. We won't kill them, but wewe'll tie them up. We still can't trust them."

Finnick ties the two Careers' wrists together while the others disperse around the island trying to get a bearing of the orientation of the arena. Just when they all think it's over, Cashmere takes her hand out of Finnick's grasp before he can tie the rope around her and she punches him hard. Finnick stumbles back a bit, enough for Cashmere to retrieve her bow and arrows and run away into the jungle following Brutus.

Later, when Annie is treating Finnick's bleeding lip and Gloss is securely tied to a tree, Johanna shakes her head disapprovingly at Prim.

"I told you Careers can't be trusted."

-::-

Six dead.

Three Careers (two free, one prisoner.)

Fifteen allied tributes.

It becomes a game of numbers and probability and waiting. May the odds be ever in your favor.

-::-

They set up camp near the edge of the jungle in the south, since Brutus and Cashmere disappeared into the north. That night, they take turns keeping watch and sleeping. Prim insists on getting one of the shifts to be fair, so she and Finnick stay up for the first shift while the others fall asleep. They talk for a while about little things. Finnick shares stories about his life in the Capitol after winning the games. He gets a bit carried away about his prostitution stint and how he knows all the horrible, rich Capitol citizens' secrets before he remembers that Prim here is only thirteen years old, so he promptly stops himself. Then, Annie, who is lying next to Finnick, rolls over in her sleep. He smiles down at her and gently moves a stray strand of hair out of her face.

He tells Prim the story of how he and Annie fell in love and how Annie became the way she was. And then he goes on to tell the story of all the other sleeping tributes. Wiress went slightly insane after witnessing gruesome deaths in her Hunger Games, much like Annie, and her insanity only worsened over the years. Johanna isn't scared of anything because President Snow killed everyone she loved and now she has absolutely nothing left to lose. The morphlings only got addicted to morphing and Haymitch and Chaff only became alcoholics because they needed an escape from the trauma of the games. Victors don't get married, because your spouse becomes one more thing Snow can hold over you. And victors _never _have children because what if their children get reaped for the games?

As she listens to Finnick and all his secrets, she looks victors sleeping on the sand. She could bet you anything they are all having bad dreams. What's really scary is that Prim could be one of them in the future. How many more years of nightmares before she ends up mad? How many more people need to die before she becomes fearless?

"What about you, pretty flower? What's your secret?"

"I don't have any secrets."

"Oh, really? Because I think you love that Peeta Mellark."

Prim freezes and she feels her cheeks heat up. Finnick laughs and nudges her with his shoulder.

"Admit it, I'm right. You have a big crush on him."

"Shut up. He loves my sister, remember?"

"He's dating your sister?"

"No, Katniss is engaged to Gale."

"Wow, you guys are worse the television shows the people in the Capitol watch."

-::-

Peeta feels like the world has turned upside down. It's just, Peeta has always been the king of unrequited love and now he's suddenly on the other side of the equation. And it's not any better, being on the other side.

-::-

Sometime later, Haymitch, Chaff, and Beetee wake up for their shift to keep watch and Prim settles down to sleep.

In the middle of the night a loud clash of thunder wakes Prim up just in time for her to see a single bright flash of lightning in the northern part of the arena. However, before she falls back to sleep, she notices Haymitch, Chaff, and Beetee whispering amongst themselves with their heads bent towards each other. It's a position Prim has become really familiar with. It's the position of people who are keeping secrets from her.

The next morning, they decide to split up into small groups to explore the arena, to which Prim vehemently objects. Don't they know anything? Splitting up is _never _a good idea. What if they something happens? What if they must move camp and can't find each other again? What if they run into the Careers? That's exactly what Brutus and Cashmere want—divide and conquer.

Despite Prim's objections, the tributes split up anyway. _And no, Prim, you can't go because it's too dangerous, you have to say here._ Chaff, Woof, Cecelia, Blight, and the man from District 5 form the largest group, heading north after the Careers. Finnick leads the man from District 10 and the woman from District 5 to the west. Johanna reluctantly agrees to take "Nuts and Volts" to the east. Which leaves Prim, Haymitch, Annie, and the female morphling to stay at the camp in the south. Oh, and Gloss, tied to the tree. Don't forget about Gloss.

Prim crosses her arms and frowns as she watches the three groups set off into the jungle. They had agreed to meet back at camp by nightfall. Prim just wishes upon all the stars that everyone will still be alive come nightfall.

For a few hours, the wait is terribly boring. Prim has a short conversation with the female morphling and finds out her name is Sapphire. Sapphire soon gets distracted and wanders around the jungle picking flowers and leaves. Annie sits and stares off into space, humming songs gently to herself. Prim goes to Haymitch and asks what he and the others were talking about last night. He says it's nothing. Of course. Then Haymitch takes a nap, so Prim hangs out with Gloss instead.

He tells Prim that he watched her in the games last year and that he truly admires Cato because he did the one thing Gloss could never do. Cato had mercy. Gloss tells her that during his year, it was down to the final two, him and this little girl who had managed to stay alive by hiding from the other tributes. And he killed her, grabbed that helpless, innocent little girl and slit her throat. And all for what? Fame and fortune amongst the Capitol's deranged citizens? To this day, he still feels guilty and can't get the image of the little girl's big, dead brown eyes out of his mind.

And she realizes that Peeta was right. It doesn't matter if one is an underdog from District 12 or a shining Career from District 1, the truth holds for all victors: they _hate _the Hunger Games.

"Hey Gloss, do you think you could talk to Cashmere and Brutus and try to convince them to join our alliance? Because if all the remaining tributes formed an alliance and promised not to kill each other, the Gamemakers have no choice, right? They have to end the games eventually, we all get to live, and it makes President Snow look like a fool."

"Oh, Prim. I think it's really honorable what you're trying to do. But I'm afraid it's never going to work."

"Why not?"

"Even if you manage to get Cashmere and Brutus to join the alliance—No, even if you manage to capture them and hold them hostage like me, it's still never going to work. You're forgetting the power the Gamemakers have over the arena. And they'll never let there be eighteen victors."

Right after Gloss said those words, as if on cue, there is a loud piercing shriek from the west, followed by the dreadful sound of a cannon, indicating a tribute death. Annie stops humming, pulls her knees up to a fetal position, squeezes her eyes shut and covers her ears with her hands. Sapphire drops her flowers and rushes over to them.

Mere seconds later, they see a colossal tidal wave sweeping over the Cornucopia, rushing straight for them. Prim shouts to wake Haymitch up and he jumps up in alert. Sapphire frantically tugs at Annie to get up, but Annie won't move, only clamps her hands tighter over her ears. There isn't time, so Haymitch picks Annie up and carries her into the jungle, away from the incoming wave. Sapphire grabs Prim's hand and they run after Haymitch, _but wait, no, what about Gloss?! _Haymitch yells over his shoulder that there's no time to go back for him, but Prim runs back anyways.

She takes the knife Haymitch had dropped on the ground and hurriedly cuts the ropes around Gloss's body. When she saws most of the way through the twine, Gloss pulls with his arms and breaks the ropes the rest of the way. Prim takes him by the hand and sprints back towards the jungle away from the wave. But Gloss doesn't move and pulls on Prim's arm to force her to stop.

"Gloss, what are you doing? Come on, we have to run!"

He stands still, one hand tightly holding Prim and the other hand behind his back. He looks at Prim with a conflicted expression. Behind them, the wave approaches, ten feet tall. Finally, Gloss sighs.

"I'm so sorry."

She is about to ask him what he's sorry for when he pulls his other hand from behind his back and reveals Haymitch's knife that Prim had just used to free him. The situation suddenly dawns on Prim. This whole time, Gloss has been waiting for her to free him so he can run off to rejoin the Careers. So he can kill her. She was a fool to fall straight into his plan. In her mind, she made him out to be another misunderstood Career who wanted redemption and who had a soft spot for young girls that remind him of the one he failed to save. She made him out to be another Cato.

But it's like he said himself: this is the difference between Gloss and Cato. Gloss does not have mercy.

-::-

(Peeta and the mentors. Katniss and District 12. President Snow. The rebel army. Starving children. Capitol citizens. All of Panem sits on the edge of its seat, eyes glued to the screen, as Gloss raises the dagger. Prim instinctively closes her eyes.)

(And then the wave crashes over them.)

-::-

For the second time in this Hunger Games, Prim finds herself submerged in water. This time, however, she manages to propel her body to the surface long enough to see a nearby tree branch and grab onto it for dear life. She sees Gloss a few feet to the right of her struggling to stay afloat against the current. Slowly, the water stills as the wave dies against the jungle floor. And then, the water rushes back towards the middle of the arena as the wave retracts. The current reverses and Prim holds onto the branch while her body is pulled the opposite direction. The force is so strong that she lose her grip on the branch with one of her hands. The water drags Gloss away and he wildly moves his arms about until he grabs Prim free hand. Now Prim is the only thing tethering him down, lest he be pulled into the deep waters and drown.

"Prim! Please!"

She looks back at him and knows what she must do.

"You were going to stab me. You were going to run away."

"I won't! I won't hurt you! I promise."

"No, Gloss, you will. Because you think the alliance will never work."

So, Prim lets go of his hand.

The wave sweeps Gloss away and he is pulled under. After a few more seconds, the water level finally goes down and Prim collapses on the jungle ground, coughing up water. Haymitch, Annie, and Sapphire run over to her. The three of them are soaked up to their waists. Haymitch glances around the empty jungle.

"Where is Gloss?"

The sound of a cannon answers his question. Haymitch, Annie, and Sapphire all turn to look at Prim with incredulous expressions. She only nods grimly.

"Careers can't be trusted."

-::-

They return to camp to let the sun dry off their soaking suits. After the tidal wave, there's another lightning storm in the north, then a rainstorm. Two more cannons. It's like a continuous onslaught from the Gamemakers. Obviously just forming an alliance is not enough, they are going to have to work hard to stay alive.

When the rain stops, there's a short period of peace in the arena. That is, until three bodies run out from the east and collapse on the beach. Behind them, a ghastly mist exudes from the jungle.

"Look! It's Johanna, Beetee, and Wiress!"

Prim and the others run across the beach towards the three. Upon closer inspection, the three are covered in red and appear to be convulsing on the sand. Johanna tries to stand, but her legs gives out and she falls again. She tries to explain what happened in between gasps of pain.

"Blood! It—rain—rain is blood! And the f-f-fog is—_aah!_—the fog is poisonous."

Beetee seems to be in the worst state, practically unconscious. At least Wiress is still talking, albeit mumbling something nonsensical _tick tock, tick tock. _

Haymitch inspects their horrible condition.

"The fog is damaging their nerves. They need treatment fast." He looks up towards the sky. "Hey Peeta, think you can send down some medicine?"

In the meantime, it doesn't help that Johanna, Beetee, and Wiress are covered in half-dried blood. With Annie and Sapphire's help, Prim drags them towards the pool of water in the center of the arena and starts washing the blood off. Surprisingly, the water helps soothe the sting of the fog. So Prim gathers big seashells and starts scooping up the water and pouring it over Beetee and Wiress. Johanna dips her whole body into the water.

While they recover, Haymitch explains their encounter with the wave and what happened to Gloss. Wiress keeps repeating _tick tock, tick tock _louder and louder. Johanna gets so annoyed, she walks over and shoves Wiress down onto the beach. Annie and Sapphire laugh, so Johanna goes over and pushes them down too. Haymitch has to stifle his chuckles. Beetee just sighs and gives Prim a tired look, _see what I have to deal with_? He clears his throat to get the rambunctious bunch's attention and to silence the laughter.

"Before we encountered the rain and the fog, we did make some observations. The arena is a perfect circle and there is a force field surrounding it. The jungle doesn't go very far before you reach the force field. We almost walked right into it if Wiress hadn't pointed it out."

Wiress starts her incessant _tick tock, tick tock_ again. Johanna groans loudly, but Prim shushes her.

"Wait, I think Wiress is trying to tell us something."

The arena is a perfect circle. The tidal wave, the lightning storm, the blood rain, the poisonous fog, all happening consecutively around the jungle going clockwise.

_Clockwise._

Oh, it all makes sense now. _Tick tock, tick tock_. Plutarch showing her the pocket watch with the bird on it. She understands now. The bird was a mockingjay, like the one on the crackers the refugees from District 8 had that Katniss told them about. Mockingjay, as in the rebellion against the Capitol, as in Plutarch had been on Prim's side all along. She thinks back to the first strike of lightning in the middle of the first night. _It begins at midnight._

Prim quickly explains her revelation to the others. Wiress nods excitedly and hugs Prim. They figured it out. They actually figured it out. Looks like they might be able to defeat the Gamemakers after all. Haymitch and Beetee begin whispering and assuming that secretive stance again. They walk to the Cornucopia to converse in private and also rummage through the remaining supplies. The five girls stand in a circle on the beach. Wiress is still muttering _tick tock, tick tock, _Annie is humming again, and Sapphire is drawing flowers in the sand. Johanna rolls her eyes at Prim.

"Looks like it's just you, me, and the mad trio."

Prim decides she might as well go collect some drinking water. Last night, the tributes had received a metal spigot to get water from the trees. Sapphire follows Prim to the edge of the jungle. She inserts the metal tip into the tree and collects sap water in a large seashell. Sapphire does some kind of waltz beside Prim, collecting flowers and leaves from the jungle plants.

Then, the sound of a cannon rings out. Prim immediately turns back to the beach. Sapphire drops her flowers in shock, but she's still facing the jungle.

Back on the beach, Wiress falls forward, landing on the sand with a thud. A single arrow is sticking up from her back. Cashmere is standing with her bow raised near the 1 o' clock section of the jungle.

The next few events happen in rapid succession: Johanna dives for her axe, Cashmere reloads her bow with another arrow, Annie screams for Haymitch and Beetee, Cashmere shoots the arrow straight at Johanna, it misses, Johanna charges at her, Cashmere retreats into the trees, Johanna chases after her, Sapphire shoves Prim aside, Prim falls to the ground, water spills everywhere, and Sapphire gives a piercing shriek as an orange creature tries to claw her face off. Prim remembers too late that it's 3 o' clock now.

Haymitch sprints toward them and helps pry the monkey muttation off Sapphire. He kills the monkey and Prim hurries to help Sapphire. She's bleeding everywhere and Prim starts sobbing, _oh god, Sapphire, no you're going to be okay, we just need to apply pressure and, oh god, you're going to stop bleeding, you're going to be okay, right?_ Haymitch sadly shakes his head at Prim.

"I don't think she's going to make it."

Prim cries harder. It's not fair. She can't lose both Wiress and Sapphire just like that. No one else was supposed to die. They just figured out the arena. How did this happen?

Sapphire gives Prim a weak smile and paints a flower on Prim's arm using her blood. Another cannon sounds and Prim cries _NO! _but Sapphire is still breathing. Rather, the cannon must mean…They look back across the beach, where Johanna emerges from the trees, triumphant.

With her last few breaths, Sapphire whispers her final words to Prim, which are the most rational words she's spoken in years.

"I believe in you."

A second cannon resounds across the arena.

Haymitch carries her back to the beach and sets her down next to Wiress's body. He and Prim join Beetee, Annie, and Johanna in a moment of silent grievance. A hovercraft soon appears to pick up the dead bodies. Prim hopes Sapphire doesn't get remembered as the female morphling from District 6 for she is so much more than that; she is Sapphire, the courageous woman who saved Prim's life.

-::-

When 4 o' clock comes around, Prim is determined not to lose anyone else to these stupid Hunger Games that she now hates more than ever. The five of them sit idly on the beach. Peeta had managed to get the medicine after all and send it down in a silver parachute. They open the box and find three small tubs of ointment. No one says a word when Prim hands one tub to Johanna, one to Beetee, and puts the third tub back in the box.

Suddenly, they hear someone cry out in the distance. Annie sits up straight at the sound.

"Finnick?"

Finnick cries out again and before any of them can stop her, Annie runs into the jungle. Haymitch chases after her.

"Annie stop! It's not Finnick! It's a trick!"

Prim, Johanna, and Beetee also follow after. Johanna, who is the fastest among the three, makes it through to the trees, but it is as if an invisible wall formed because Prim and Beetee cannot enter the jungle, no matter how hard they try. What's worse, they discover that the invisible wall is also sound proof. They watch as Annie gets dragged back, with Haymitch holding her on the right and Johanna holding her on the right. They also run right into the invisible wall. Prim sees their mouths move, but hears nothing. She feels so helpless and turns to Beetee.

"What's going on? What did Haymitch mean the scream wasn't actually Finnick? It sounded just like him."

"Jabberjays. They are muttations that can be trained to mimic any sound. My guess is the Gamemakers programmed the jays to copy the screams of the tributes' loved ones. So for Annie, that's Finnick."

Poor Annie. She's obviously going crazy with the torment of hearing Finnick scream in pain. Johanna seems to be trying to explain the concept of jabberjays to her, but Annie isn't listening. Annie wiggles out of Johanna and Haymitch's grasp and makes another run for it, but Johanna catches her around the waist and holds her back. Haymitch pounds at the invisible wall. He is trying to tell Prim something but she can't understand.

"What? I can't hear!"

Haymitch moves his lips slower and clearly mouths two words. _Find Finnick._

So Prim and Beetee run off across the expanse of the center beach and into the jungle at 9 o' clock. They call out for Finnick and, thank god, they find him with the man from District 10. Beetee hurriedly explains the situation with the jabberjays and together, the four rush back across the beach. It is then that Prim realizes Finnick's group is down to two and the woman from District 5 is also gone.

They reach the 4 o' clock jungle and Finnick presses his palms against the invisible wall. At the sight of him, Annie finally calms down and stops struggling against Johanna. She presses her palms against Finnick's and smiles through her tears. Johanna sighs and walks over to Haymitch, who has changed since Prim last saw him. He is now on his knees with his eyes shut tight and his fists clenched. Johanna rests her hand on Haymitch's shoulder and says something to him, probably that Prim is back with Finnick. Haymitch opens his eyes and gives Prim a small nod.

It is a long hour of jabberjay torment, but it passes at last. The invisible wall disappears and Annie falls right into Finnick's arms. Haymitch stands and shakes his head, as if to get the sound out of his head. Johanna walks right out, completely unaffected, as if she hadn't heard anything at all.

Then Prim recalls that Johanna doesn't have any loved ones left alive, so she actually didn't hear anything at all. Johanna doesn't have a jabberjay. This is the one area where the Gamemakers can't hurt her.

Prim turns to look at Haymitch again. He is walking down the beach, rubbing his face with his hands, probably wishing for some alcohol right now. And she wonders…

Whose screams did Haymitch hear?

-::-

Soon after, the last group returns to camp. With a heavy heart, Prim notices that Blight and Woof are not with them.

Thirteen dead.

One Career.

Ten allied tributes.

Everyone notices the dwindling numbers, but no one dares say anything about it.

The ground has dried since the 10 o' clock tidal wave, so Cecelia and the man from District 10 go into southern jungle to collect firewood. And there, they learn the hard way what the Gamemakers had planned for 6 o' clock. Not two minutes after they enter the forest, there is a loud scream, a feral growl that could not be anything human, a cannon, and Cecelia comes running out of the jungle alone. Shell-shocked, she explains what happened. The man from District 10 had been ripped apart by a terrible beast.

Fourteen dead.

Suddenly, an arm tightens around Prim's waist from behind and she feels a cool metal blade press against her throat. For a split second, she thought it was Brutus, but then he talks and she realizes it's the man from District 5.

"When are they coming? You said they would come, when are they coming?!"

Haymitch jumps up with a panicked expression on his face.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The man takes a few steps back from Haymitch and Prim gets dragged back with him. She takes in a shaky breath. Who is this "they" and why are they coming? Now Johanna, Beetee, and the others all gather behind Haymitch. The District 5 man continues talking, but there is fear in his voice.

"How long are we supposed to wait? The more time passes, the more people die. Who knows what else is in this cursed jungle. At this rate, we'll all be dead in two days. You said if we all form an alliance and protect the girl, we can all make it out of this alive, but you _lie_! You're waiting for rest of us to die off so you can win!"

"Shut up or you'll get all of us killed! Now are you part of the alliance or not?"

Prim can feel the man from District 5 shake his head. He presses the blade so hard, it draws blood from Prim's throat. He slowly inches backwards towards the trees.

"No one follow me or the girl di—"

The man stops, midsentence. He drops the blade and loosens his hold on Prim. Haymitch quickly grabs Prim and pulls her to safety. She turns around to see that Finnick had come around from behind and stabbed the man's back with his trident. Prim covers her mouth with her hand and buries her face into Haymitch's chest. He wraps his arms around her soothingly.

Finnick yanks the trident back out and the man from District 5 collapses onto the sand. Fifteen dead. Finnick turns to the rest of the tributes.

"Anyone else want out?"

-::-

Now they have no choice. Now they must rescue the tributes as soon as possible. Stupid man blabbed the secret plan for the whole nation to hear. Plutarch gets off the phone and faces the others.

"We can get the hovercraft by midnight tonight. Send the bread."

Then, Plutarch turns and points directly at Peeta.

"And you, you are getting on the next jet back to District 12. District 13 will meet you there with a hovercraft."

"Why?"

"You need to alert the people and start evacuating. The second they break down the force field and we rescue the tributes, District 12 is the first place Snow will bomb. This isn't a rebellion anymore. This is war."

-::-

It is almost time for the 10 o' clock tidal wave again. This time, they all take precautions and climb up trees so that when the wave hits, the water only rushes below them. As the water drains away and they climb down from the trees, a silver parachute comes down with twenty-four rolls of bread from District 3. And with seemingly irrelevant haste, Beetee announces his grand plan before the bread is even distributed. He wants to use wire and create a path from the 12 o' clock lightning to the body of water in the middle of the arena. The entire arena ground will still be wet from the wave and thus electrically conductive, so they can use that to shock Brutus, the last remaining Career. But they have to move _now _because the lightning hits in one hour.

Everyone else nods eagerly and stuffs the bread into their mouths while running towards the north 12 o' clock region of the jungle. Prim struggles to keep up. She wonders why the hurry and jeez, why couldn't Beetee mention this plan beforehand?

In the dark, it is difficult to distinguish the trees. There is a brief argument over which tree is _the _tree. Finally, Beetee starts wrapping the wire around the trunk of the agreed upon tree. Clouds begin to loom overhead, hinting at the upcoming storm. They are running out of time. Chaff and Cecelia rush to help Beetee. Haymitch picks up the long roll of coiled wire.

"We need to get this down to the water. Who is the fastest?"

It's obvious who the fastest is. It's the one who, just now, made it to the tree before everyone else. Annie Cresta. But Finnick adamantly objects:

"No! Annie is not going!"

Ever since the jabberjay episode, Finnick hasn't left Annie's side. But things are urgent. There are running out of time. Annie turns to face Finnick.

"Finnick, it's okay. I want to go."

Johanna steps up as well.

"Calm down, Odair. I'll go with Annie. I'm the second fastest here, anyway."

Finnick stares at Annie with the most crestfallen expression. It hurts Prim to just look at him. The first clap of thunder roars above them and a soft drizzle pours down. They are running out of time. Annie gives him one more encouraging nod.

"It's okay. I'll be okay."

He sighs and agrees reluctantly. He gives Annie one last kiss before she and Johanna take the wire and sprint downhill toward the water.

-::-

There's a loud noise outside her house and when Katniss walks outside, she sees a small jet from the Capitol has landed in the middle of the Victor's Village. The glass roof raises and out steps Peeta. He takes one look at her bewildered expression and rushes right by her.

"Sorry Katniss, no time to explain. Get your mom and my family and tell them to meet down at the square."

"Why? What's going on?"

"There's no time! We need to evacuate the entire district. Here comes the hovercraft."

A large hovercraft now descends right over the square. People are gathering around, staring at the ship. Peacekeepers are trying to keep the people back while trying to figure out what the hell a hovercraft was doing here. Peeta storms past them and walks right into the center of the square and addresses all the people:

"Everyone please stay calm and listen carefully. President Snow is sending bombers here and you all need to get out _now._ Get on this hovercraft immediately. It will take you to District 13. More details and explanations will be given in the hovercraft. Please, gather your family and get on the hovercraft."

One of the Peacekeepers approach Peeta, telling him he's not authorized to land hovercrafts from nonexistent districts here. Peeta punches the Peacekeeper in the face. Many people cheer.

From the crowd, Gale rushes forward.

"Why would Snow try to bomb us? We haven't even rebelled!"

"They are going to blow up the Hunger Games arena tonight and there is a rebel force going in to rescue the tributes. We're rescuing Prim when President Snow wants her dead. That's reason enough to blast this entire district into rubble. Trust me on this, why else would I be here right now? So _please, _there isn't time! Hurry!"

At first, the people remain skeptical, but gradually, they start to pile onto the hovercraft. Special personnel from District 13 exit the hovercraft and help direct the rest of the evacuation. Peeta turns and is about to go back to his jet when Katniss stops him.

"Wait, you're going to rescue Prim?"

"We're going to try. Look, I really have to go now. Twenty minutes to midnight. I'll tell you everything when I meet you in District 13 okay?"

Peeta walks ten more steps before he stops, turns back around, and extends his hand out to Katniss.

"Unless…unless you want to come with me? There's room for one more in the jet."

Before she can reply, Gale calls out to her. She turns around and sees him standing in the line to board the hovercraft next to his family and her mother. He gestures for her to hurry over.

Katniss looks back at Peeta, then at Gale.

They are running out of time.

She takes Peeta's hand and together, they run back to the jet.

-::-

Beetee finishes off the wiring of the tree just as the rain doubles in intensity. Thunder rolls in crescendo. Prim looks up at the sky. _This is really going to work_.

She spoke too soon. Because just then, there's a sharp _twang! _and the end of the wire that Annie and Johanna are leading down springs back to the tree. Someone had cut the wire down the middle. There are only nine tributes left alive. Six of them are standing by the tree. Two of them are running that very wire down to the water. Therefore, by process of elimination, the person who cut the wire has to be Brutus.

Haymitch, Finnick, Beetee, Chaff and Cecelia form a defensive circle around Prim, facing outwards with weapons raised. It makes Prim think back to how nice everyone has been to her and what the man from District 5 had said. _You said if we all form an alliance and protect the girl…_Protect the girl. She doesn't understand. Why does everyone want to protect her? Just because she's the precious little girl who said she hated the president?

Brutus attacks the weakest link. He charges at Beetee and roughly throws him aside, crashing into Finnick. They both roll down a hill. Brutus next reaches for Prim, but Cecelia jumps out in front of her. Brutus grabs Cecelia by the throat, picking her off the ground, and snaps her neck. Prim screams. Next, Chaff swings his sword at Brutus, but Brutus ducks out of the way. Finally, Haymitch gets the job done and stabs Brutus with his knife. At last, the final Career falls.

The rain pours even harder and the thunder claps even louder. The lightning will strike any second now. They are running out of time. Haymitch rushes to the cut wire in panic.

"The wire isn't reaching the water. It won't have any effect!"

Prim is confused.

"I thought this plan was to kill electrocute Brutus. Well, he's already dead—"

That's when Prim finally understood. The plan was never to kill Brutus. They only said that to not alert the Gamemakers. No, they want to use the electricity from the lightning to do something else, something bigger, but what? Haymitch grabs the end of the cut wire, looks around frantically, then looks at the metal knife in his hand. He quickly wraps the wire around the handle of the knife. Prim has a bad feeling in her gut.

"Haymitch, what are you doing?!"

But he ignores her. When she tries to go up to him, Chaff stops her and directs her to stand away from the tree so she doesn't get shocked. But what about Haymitch? Wouldn't _he _get shocked?

One more important thing about the storm. It's so deafening that they can't hear the sound of the cannon. Or the lack of a cannon.

Brutus, whom they presumed to be dead, is actually not quite dead yet. He stumbles to his feet, presses one hand against his bloody wound and grabs his dagger with his other hand. Chaff pushes Prim behind him and they back away from the not-fallen Career. Prim notices with horror that Chaff had dropped his sword and is no longer armed. As they back away, however, they pass Cecelia's corpse and her knife lying on the ground. Prim subtly bends down and retrieves the knife. She intended to pass the knife to Chaff, but that plan immediately falls through when Brutus lunges forward and stabs Chaff in the stomach. Prim leaps back in fright and hides the knife behind her back.

Now, it's just Prim and Brutus. Chaff and Cecelia are dead. Beetee and Finnick are still down the hill, perhaps knocked unconscious. Annie and Johanna might already be at the water by now. And Haymitch is holding his knife tied to the wire up in the air, like he's going to stab an invisible person in front of him. What is Haymitch even doing? But it doesn't matter. The point is, all her defenses gone. Brutus gives her a devil smile and advances towards her. She finds herself backed to a tree. And they are running out of time.

There is no escape. No one is going to protect her now. There is no one left to jump in front of harm's way for her. And she thinks, this would be a terrible way to die, much worse than if she had drowned the first day. Chaff and Cecelia and Sapphire all died to save her, everyone vowed to protect her, and Prim is just going to let all that go to waste and be killed by a man who is already half-dead himself?

No.

Once, Primrose Everdeen helped blow up the Careers' camp. Once, Primrose Everdeen let go of Gloss's hand and watched him drown.

Once, Primrose Everdeen had the courage to pull the knife from behind her back and stab it right in the center of Brutus's chest.

This time, he dies for real. Just as Brutus's limp body falls to the ground, the clock finally strikes midnight. They have run out of time. Like clockwork, lightning comes down and hits the tree. The electricity travels down the trunk, through the wire, and into the knife, which Haymitch drives forward with all his strength.

The next few events happen in quick succession: the electricity from the lightning pierces through the force field, the voltage spreads across the entire dome over the arena, Haymitch yells as his whole body is electrocuted, everything explodes, the force throws Prim into the air and she lands on a downward sloping hill.

She nearly faints. When she opens her eyes, she sees Finnick and Beetee and realizes she had rolled down the same hill they had. There is a bright light overhead and a loud humming noise. Finnick helps her to her feet and she tries to run back to Haymitch, but Finnick won't let her go.

"We have to go now, pretty flower. Come."

The rest happens in a blur. Finnick and Beetee lead her up some steps and then suddenly Plutarch is there. Prim keeps struggling and calling out for Haymitch, but more and more people show up and they lay her down on a bed. The room is so bright, why is it so bright? She just wants to know what happened to Haymitch, why won't anyone tell her?

And then, two figures burst through the doors and run to her bed. Prim recognizes their face faces with glee. It's Peeta and Katniss. They'll definitely tell her what happened.

Katniss holds Prim's hand and kisses her fingers. Meanwhile, Peeta goes around to the other side of the bed and takes Prim's other hand. He speaks to her in a calm voice.

"You're safe now, Prim. You're in a hovercraft going to District 13. The games are over. You did so well, you were so strong."

"Peeta, where's Haymitch?"

Peeta freezes and he gives Katniss is disheartened look. Neither says anything for a long while. Finally, Katniss gives Prim's hand a squeeze.

"Prim…Haymitch is dead."

* * *

thank you to everyone who read this story since i posted it a while ago. i got such a good response that i decided to continue the no volunteering AU for the rest of the trilogy. the mockingjay chapter will be posted next week hopefully!


	3. surviving (mockingjay)

**iii. surviving  
**(mockingjay)

_My name is Primrose Everdeen. I am thirteen years old. _

They are concerned Prim might have a concussion from her big fall back in the arena when everything exploded. They think she might be mentally unstable. They ask her to constantly review every fact she is sure of to ascertain there is no brain damage or memory loss.

_My home is District 12. There is no District 12._

She has to beg and plead until finally, they allow her to visit the remains of District 12. She goes with Katniss and they stand on the rubble that might have been pieces of a house from down in the Seam, but also might have been ashes of the unfortunate people who refused to evacuate. The bombs came mere seconds after the hovercraft left, they said. No survivors, they said.

And the list of people-who-died-because-of-Prim grows.

Just as they're about to leave, Buttercup emerges perfectly unharmed and paws at Prim's leg. She manages the faintest of smiles and picks up the cat. Correction: one survivor.

_I was in the Hunger Games. I escaped. The Capitol hates me. And Haymitch is dead._

Prim has new nightmares now. Haymitch, standing at the force field, striking it with his metal knife tied to that metal wire tied to that tall tree struck by lightning. They try to explain it to her: Haymitch didn't die in vain, he sacrificed himself for the revolution, he saved you, he saved us all. But Prim doesn't want to listen to them. They were all in on the plan. Everyone knew about the plan, except for Prim. _We were trying to protect you_. Well, she is so goddamn tired of being protected all the time. When did she ever agree to this, to any of this?

_Annie and Johanna were taken prisoner by the Capitol. But they are still alive. They have to stay alive._

In the end, Annie and Johanna simply didn't make it back in time. The Capitol captured them before the rebels could reach them. And now they are out there somewhere, undoubtedly being tortured for information.

Prim hates the Hunger Games and the Capitol and President Snow. But now she also hates the rebels and the revolution and that stupid mockingjay. She hates _them_, because they made her decisions for her and took away the people she loved.

-::-

Life in District 13 is, frankly, aggravating. Everything is underground, meticulous, structured, and achingly dull. It makes Prim feel like she's suffocating.

President Coin calls her in for meetings with the other rebel leaders up in Command. It's all talk about military strategy and grassroots movement and propos campaigns; Prim doesn't understand half the words they say. But they keep referring "the Mockingjay" as if it were a person, an idol and a leader of the revolution. Finally, after days of just sitting there and pretending to follow along the conversation, she asks them.

"Who is the Mockingjay?"

Most of them look at her with a stunned expression. A few even chuckle. President Coin's slim eyebrows rise up into her hairline and she presses her lips together in a straight line before answering.

"It's you, Primrose. You're the Mockingjay."

-::-

Gale and Katniss are both invited to join the ranks of the rebel army. Gale gladly accepts. Katniss politely declines.

Now, Gale spends all day up in Command with President Coin and the others planning battles and spends all night telling Katniss about his devised strategy of bombing once and then bombing twice to kill those who rushed in to help the victims of the first and they lie together in bed in the little room District 13 has oh so generously allotted just for them. There's fire in Gale's eyes when he talks of revolution and revenge and Katniss can't find the heart to tell him that she doesn't believe in the cause.

Because she spends her days living among the ordinary inhabitants of District 13 and the refugees from around Panem, doing her monotonous assigned daily tasks. She hears what the people say. She is of the unpopular opinion—she doesn't think the new president is any better than the old one. District 13 is not as glorious as she previously imagined and she thinks, how can this petty underground civilization ever take down the Capitol? Honestly, she was never good at the optimism thing. That was always Prim.

Katniss feels the old yearning to run away again. By some miracle, Prim is still alive after enduring two Hunger Games and President Snow's malicious tricks. Katniss just wants to take her little sister and run far away before any more harm can come in her way. But the thing is she's already at District 13. And she is out of places to run to.

-::-

About two weeks after the Quarter Quell rescue and the District 12 bombing, the Capitol broadcasts the first of its videos. It's Annie and Johanna being interviewed by Caesar Flickerman. They both look fatigued, but otherwise in good condition. Poor Annie looks perpetually frightened and clutches onto Johanna's arm like a desperate safety line, meanwhile Johanna just stares straight into the camera with a frazzled but steady expression like _try all you might, you will never break me_.

Caesar asks them if there is anything they want to say to Prim, Peeta, Finnick, and the rebels. Johanna sits tight and says nothing. Annie looks at Johanna and tries to copy the cold shoulder. But Annie is not resilient like Johanna. Annie is fragile, easily broken. She faces the camera and starts sobbing.

"Just stop! Stop fighting! No one is going to win and everyone is going to die."

Johanna shushes Annie and whispers something inaudible. Annie nods and quietens her crying to a soft whimpering. President Snow is obviously unhappy with Johanna hindering Annie's meltdown, which is the point of the entire broadcast in the first place. Guards appear on screen and usher Caesar aside before they drag Johanna away. She puts up a good fight but is ultimately pulled away, leaving Annie all alone in front of the camera, completely vulnerable. Tears are running down her face and she whispers a final word:

"Please."

Another guard appears and roughly grabs Annie by the arm, leading her away, and the screen flickers black.

-::-

After the broadcast, Peeta finds Prim sitting on the ground outside the Command office. She looks stressed and scared and twice her age.

"Are we doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe we should stop fighting."

Peeta hates being the bearer of bad news. That was always Haymitch's job, but Haymitch is gone now. The look on Prim's face when he tells her no, they must keep fighting and it's too late to turn around now is one of fear and despair. He feels guilty, like he's ruining the last of Prim's childhood innocence. And yes, Prim is only thirteen, but then again, Peeta is only seventeen. War stops for no child. They have to grow up now. They have no choice.

"I just don't see why they even need me."

"We all need someone to believe in."

"So you really think I should do it?"

"The way I see it, the war is going to happen either way. With you as the Mockingjay, we have a fraction of a better chance."

The revolution has already caught fire and it's impossible to extinguish it now. They can only help it spread. It's like Haymitch once said, they have to fight now. Simply surviving is no longer an option.

-::-

It's Katniss who finds Octavia, Venia, and Flavius locked in the depth of District 13. Prim the demands three of them be released immediately. When Prim asks President Coin why her old prep team was taken as prisoners, Coin makes some pathetic excuse about them taking more than their share of food. Later, Beetee explains to Prim the real reason they were locked up—they are from the Capitol.

Prim wants so desperately to believe that the rebel cause is a force of good and the Capitol is a force of evil, that President Coin is the hero while President Snow is the villain. But the truth is, some Capitol citizens have the kindest souls Prim has ever met while some rebels have a ruthless desire for revenge. The truth is, President Coin has a flagrant disregard for the value of human lives that rivals President Snow. The truth is, there is no good or evil.

They are just two sides of the same die.

-::-

They begin filming propos of Prim as Mockingjay to broadcast to the rebels to boost morale. They are going to fly Prim to District 8, in the middle of the battleground, and film her in action. A well-rounded team is constructed to travel with her: Peeta, Gale, Finnick, and Boggs as guards, and Cressida, Castor, Pollux, and Messalla as camera crew. And Katniss, as big sister.

On the hangar to District 8, the prep team is busy perfecting Prim's attire in armor and Mockingjay dress, courtesy of Cinna before he was ruthlessly killed. Meanwhile, Finnick approaches Katniss.

"Hey, new girl. You're the other Everdeen, the one who tried to volunteer for Prim."

"Yes. And you're Finnick Odair, the sex god from District 4."

He laughs but it sounds hollow and his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. He nudges Katniss with his elbow and nods to where Peeta and Gale are standing next to each other, conversing with Boggs.

"So, from what I hear, you're in quite the love mess."

"Are we really going to gossip right now?"

"I'm just saying, we all know who you're going to pick in the end."

"Who?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

-::-

There are dead bodies everywhere.

Prim walks quietly, trailed by the rest of her entourage, over the battleground. She tries to count the number of dead bodies until it makes her sick. And she thinks of Annie's words in the last broadcast. _No one is going to win and everyone is going to die_.

Commander Paylor meets them and leads them to the hospital where many more injured rebels are being housed and treated. The giant room reeks of rotting flesh and medicine and everyone looks a breath away from death, yet when they see Prim, they immediately smile. Suddenly, there's energy and high spirits in the room again. There's life.

Everyone sits up, scrambles out of bed, and walks-limps-crawls their way to shake Prim's hand. She is completely overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. These are strangers, most of whom are wounded beyond treatment, yet they all appear miraculously rejuvenated simply by Prim's presence. And for the very first time, Prim realizes that there is some merit in the whole Mockingjay idea. She has a power over these people, a power she never asked for and a power earned through the most tragic methods, but a power nonetheless. Seeing all these wounded fighters and kindred souls looking up to her like she is their sun, well, how could Prim ever let them down?

She doesn't even realize Cressida has been filming the entire encounter until the very end. When she looks back, her entire team is looking at her with a proud smile. Plutarch gives her half a smirk, like _I told you you were important, kid. _Katniss gives her a hug and Prim is practically the same height as her now. Never has Primrose Everdeen felt more grown-up.

Then the missiles come.

It's a sudden hustle as Plutarch leads the team away to hide in a warehouse. They must not let the Capitol know Prim is here in District 8. But after they had evacuated, Prim sees that the bombers aren't even attempting to hit the warehouse, or anywhere else. In fact, all the bombs are aimed directly at the hospital they were previously at. Prim gasps when she understands what President Snow is trying to do—he's killing all the injured. She runs out the door, trying to rush back to help defend the hospital, but Katniss and Peeta hold her back. She's screaming, yelling, fighting, crying but they only hold her back.

After the bombers leave, they return to the hospital but Commander Paylor just sadly shakes her head. Just like that, another hundred gone.

Prim steps back, staring at the destruction, at all the lost lives, at Katniss and Peeta who held her back. They always hold her back. She wonders when Katniss and Peeta became one of _them_. Peeta gives her an apologetic shrug.

"There's nothing we could've done."

"No. There is always something we can do."

They all look taken back by her response. There's a short moment of tense silence before Finnick's face breaks into a smile. It almost seems out of place until Prim hears a click behind her. She turns around to find Cressida, who had continued filming the entire bombing, lowering her camera. She matches Finnick's smile.

Prim has just inadvertently given the revolution a new slogan.

-::-

The propos go viral, broadcasted repeatedly throughout the Districts. The hospital visit, the bombing, _there is always something we can do. _The rebels control all but District 2 and the revolution appears to be gaining momentum. People are filled with hope. Which, Katniss thinks, isn't necessarily a good sign. Hopeful people stop being careful. Hopeful people get hurt.

Katniss bumps into Peeta that night as she mindlessly strolls the halls. Neither can get much sleep, it seems. They begin walking together, falling into step with each other without really trying to. Katniss can't voice her uncertainties to Prim, who is the Mockingjay for crying out loud. And god forbid she tell Gale, who believes in the fight with all his heart. But here, in the dead of night, maybe she can confess to Peeta.

"What if we lose?"

He shakes his head.

"Things become so much worse than before."

With his tired eyes, Peeta looks centuries old, but this is still the same boy who gave her the bread that one night in the rain, the same boy who saved her little sister twice, the same boy whom she owes too much. Katniss thinks back to his love confession in the Hunger Games. She thinks back to the secret kiss the night before the Reaping, which they both pretend never happened. She thinks back to him inviting her to join him in the jet and extending his hand and her taking it. She thinks back to Finnick smirking and saying, _isn't it obvious?_

Then, Boggs appears from around a corner, running at them.

"There you two are. Hurry, President Coin wants you up in Command immediately."

They follow Boggs up to the headquarters where President Coin is sitting, anxiously staring at the screen, where a paused image of Annie and Johanna are projected. Katniss realizes with dread that the Capitol must have broadcasted another video of the captured victors, in retaliation to the rebels' broadcasted propos. Once Katniss and Peeta arrive, President Coin silently presses play on the video.

Annie and Johanna are noticeably more bruised and bloodied than last time. But their frail appearance is the least disturbing aspect of the broadcast. They both stare directly at the camera and directly address Prim. They both speak openly, even willingly. Desperately.

"Prim, you must listen to us. They're not telling you the truth. President Coin is only using you so _she _can take over Panem. There is no revolution. Prim, please, you need to stop this before any more people die."

"Ask yourself, do you really trust the people you're working with? Do you really know what's going on? And if you don't…find out."

The video cuts off abruptly and President Coin turns around to face Katniss and Peeta with a grim expression.

"You two trust me, don't you?"

Not really. But Peeta digs his elbow into Katniss's side as a warning. So she keeps mum, fakes a smile, and nods.

Coin walks over to them, her pin-straight hair unmoving, framing her apprehensive expression.

"We need to get Annie and Johanna out. I thought we had more time, but the matter is more urgent than I presumed."

Katniss briefly wonders why Coin called them up at this hour just to tell them about her plans when it very well could have waited until the morning. And then she gets it.

"Wait, you want _us _to rescue them?"

"Precisely, Miss Everdeen."

This is outrageous. Katniss wants to rebuke, how in the world are they supposed to manage a feat like breaking into the Capitol and rescuing two of the most important captives? They're only two teenagers, one with a knack for shooting stuff with an arrow and the other with a knack for decorating cakes. Hardly a dynamic duo for any feat at all.

But Peeta is already pulling her by the arm out the door.

"Yes, is that all?"

Coin holds up a bony finger.

"One more thing: Primrose Everdeen must not know about this video."

As they leave, Katniss glances over her shoulder to see Coin deleting the video file.

-::-

Meanwhile downstairs, Prim wakes up from an awful nightmare about the District 8 bombing. Usually Katniss is there to kiss her forehead or sing a lullaby and tell her things will be okay. But Katniss isn't with her anymore, she has her own room with Gale because they're engaged and getting married soon and sometimes Prim still can't wrap that fact around her mind. She hates to be a bother, but she can't fall back asleep so she wanders down the hallway to Katniss's room. Unfortunately, her older sister is nowhere to be found, although Gale sleeps soundly with his arm draped around the sheets where Katniss is supposed to be. Prim then goes further down the hall to look for Peeta, but he's missing from his room as well. Just how many people have insomnia these days?

Finally, Prim finds Finnick in his room. His eyes are shut but he quickly opens them the second Prim opens his door. He must have been also awake.

She tells him about her nightmares and he tells her about his. They then talk about mindless things before Finnick suggests they watch television. There's a re-edited version of the propos that echoes Prim's words over and over again. _There is always something we can do. There is always something we can do. There is always something we can do…_Prim can hardly stand it and she is about to turn off the television when Annie and Johanna abruptly come on screen. Finnick tenses up beside her and Prim automatically drops the remote.

-::-

The next morning, President Coin and Katniss and Peeta pretend they hadn't seen the video while Prim and Finnick pretend they hadn't seen the video and everyone pretends everything is fine.

All the while, no one knows what to believe or who to trust anymore.

-::-

Beetee had managed to hack into the Capitol's broadcasting network and in the middle of Annie and Johanna's next live video, Beetee takes over and airs the newest Mockingjay propos. Prim's face gets about five seconds of screen time before the Capitol wrestles back control and switches the feed back to Annie and Johanna. It continues like this for several minutes, rebels versus Capitol, so that the resulting video resembles a mashup jumble of incoherent words and faces.

Finally, the Capitol blocks out Beetee's remote feed and resumes control of their broadcast. President Snow appears between the two victors and he has one hand on each of their shoulders. His expression is passive, calm, but ominous nevertheless. He gives Annie a small nudge and she starts talking to the camera again, directly at Prim. She talks again of stopping the war and the fighting, calling for ceasefire before any more people die. It's the same thing she always says, her words no doubt scripted by Snow. While they watch, President Coin keeps repeating over and over again, _this is all a ploy, don't listen, don't let it get to you, we'll get them out of there as soon as possible. _It's just, Prim can't help but hear those words and she can't help but see the deteriorating state of her friends and it breaks her broken heart and she thinks it's already getting to her.

Suddenly, Johanna jumps forward, out of President Snow's grasp, and interrupts Annie with a slightly delirious, dramatic outburst:

"You…in 13…dead by morning!"

-::-

Panic.

Loud emergency sirens.

More panic.

Orderly evacuation.

Down, down, down.

The Mockingjay is missing.

Everyone panics.

She finally makes it down just before the doors close. She's carrying the cat.

Relief.

Silence.

The first bomb. Then the second. Third, fourth, fifth.

(Panic, panic, panic.)

-::-

Day 1: A lot of boredom. Prim helps her mother distribute medical packages and tend to the sick. Also, Katniss invents the Crazy Cat game. It's a big hit.

Day 2: Peeta and Katniss try to come up with a plausible plan for Annie and Johanna's rescue mission. It's really difficult. Katniss thinks that word got around that she doesn't like President Coin, so Coin is only sending her on this kamikaze mission in the hopes that she might get killed in the process. Coin never _really _cared to save Annie and Johanna anyway. They were just auxiliary victors that could be sacrificed for the greater rebellion. Peeta says that's not true, but now that Katniss put the idea in his head, he can't shake off the feeling that maybe Coin is trying to get rid of him too.

Day 3: Katniss and Gale get in a fight. She tells him about her theory and he tells her she's crazy, Coin is sending her on the rescue mission because she thinks highly of Katniss and believes she is capable of the task. Coin can't possibly have ulterior motives. Then Katniss says maybe Annie was right and the rebel leaders can't be trusted and _why do you spend so much time with Coin anyway? _Gale glares at her and answers, _because unlike you, I actually want to win this war, _and then walks away.

Day 4: At night, when the bombs are keeping everyone up, Prim goes and sits beside Finnick. He's quiet, staring straight ahead, tying and untying a piece of rope at top velocity. She asks him how he's doing. He tells her he has spent every waking second since the Quarter Quell thinking back to that moment when he agreed to let Annie run the wire down. He should never have let her go. And it kills him.

Day 5: Katniss and Gale make up. Peeta sighs when he sees them kissing and turns away.

Day 6: The bombs finally stop. Prim gets ushered up to the surface of District 13 and climbs over the destruction. She reads cheesy lines from a script while the camera crew films. "You can't fight fire with fire, Snow. Because you're the one who gets burned." When she returns home, she just wants to cry because what if they're wrong, what if you fight fire with fire and the whole world burns? She wants to talk to someone, anyone, but Katniss is gone and so is Peeta. Where do those two disappear to all the time? She runs into Gale and finally coerces an answer out of him. He tells her what apparently everyone else already knew but was rudely kept a secret from her (but by now she wouldn't expect anything less, to be honest): Katniss and Peeta is currently trying to break Annie and Johanna out of Capitol captivity.

It takes a second for the news to sink in.

Katniss and Peeta, in the Capitol, saving Annie and Johanna, the most dangerous task ever.

Prim just might lose all four of them.

Oh god.

She screams, but no sound comes out. She hates the President. And this time, she doesn't mean Snow.

-::-

Peeta and Katniss infiltrate the Capitol pretending to be part of the camera crew filming Annie and Johanna's next broadcast. Then it happens so fast, there is only time for blind instinct and very little else. There's gunfire and guards and chasing and running and shooting and someone throws a bomb and Peeta thinks it might be Katniss's smoke bomb but he's not sure. Somehow, he finds Annie with his right hand and Johanna with his left and he's leading them out of the smoky chaos. Katniss follows after, aiming her new specially designed bow and arrows at any followers.

Plutarch is waiting for them in the hovercraft and it's so close, they have to take off before Peeta makes it all the way up the stairs. For a split second, he swears he is going to die. And in that second, as the hovercraft ascends fifty feet in the air and he is only hanging on with one hand on the railing, he is surprised to find that he is...okay. This would be the way to go, wouldn't you think? In the course of the past two years, Peeta Mellark has gone from the nondescript son of a baker to a Hunger Games victor and appointed revolution leader. Peeta Mellark _matters _now. And if this is how his story ends, well, it's so much better than dying as a pawn in the Capitol's stupid games.

He can't hold on much longer.

As his fingers are about to slip and as he is about to fall to certain death, Katniss appears and reaches down, catching him before he falls. She holds on tight and doesn't let go. It doesn't matter if Peeta had come to terms with death, Katniss Everdeen is not going to let him die. She uses all her strength to haul Peeta up. He manages to get both arms up over the hovercraft ledge, but Katniss alone can't pull him all the way up. Then Johanna runs up and helps pull Peeta all the way into the hovercraft. Peeta finally climbs completely into the hovercraft and breathes heavily, feeling like he had just cheated death.

Then Plutarch shouts for everyone to back away. Katniss jumps and pounces on Peeta and the two of them roll two times before the rocket hits the open doorway Peeta was hanging off of literally ten seconds prior. It blasts a big hole into the side of the hovercraft, but the vehicle remains in the air. There is a rough lurch as the hovercraft speeds away from the Capitol. Peeta doesn't think he can breathe. He just cheated death _twice._ He turns to Katniss beside him.

"You saved my life."

She smiles and gives him a soft punch on the shoulder.

"Consider us even."

Then she kisses him.

And now he really can't breathe.

-::-

Annie and Finnick reunite. It's glorious and beautiful. All of District 13 sheds a happy tear. It kind of reminds everyone that love and freedom is what they're really fighting for; it's easy to forget that amidst the endless days of destruction. Finnick and Annie are so overcome with emotions that they decide to _get married_. Everyone cheers at the sudden engagement but it reminds Peeta that, oh right, Katniss and Gale are going to get married soon too, so maybe he should stop kissing her. Maybe. He looks across the crowd where Katniss stands, holding hands with Gale, and he wonders what is going through her mind, if maybe it's thoughts about him.

-::-

District 2 calls for reinforcements. Prim and the whole team are transported over to join the rebel effort there, except Finnick who remains with Annie. They meet Lyme and the rest of the rebels and try to strategize how to attack the Nut. Halfway into the discussion of weaponry and military tactics, in the middle of Beetee's sentence, Katniss just gets up and walks out the door. Everyone stares after her strangely. Prim looks like she wants to follow her sister out. Peeta has to suppress his smile.

Later, after the meeting is adjourned, Gale finds Katniss sitting outside. He sits down beside her with a sigh. Not a content sigh, but a disgruntled sigh. A we-need-to-talk-and-I'm-not-happy sigh.

"Really, Katniss. Can't you just pretend for a second that you actually want to be here?"

"No."

He sighs again. It's always the same old fight, over and over again.

"So, did you all decide what to do?"

"You would know if you didn't walk out like a brat."

She whips her head around to look at him. Gale has never talked to her like this before. She almost gets up and leaves again, but god forbid she be called a brat again.

Gale shakes his head, then looks up at the night sky.

"We're going to attack and then block the entrance of the mountain with an avalanche so the Capitol citizens inside can't escape."

"Who thought of _that _plan? Everyone inside will die!"

"_I _thought of that plan."

"Oh."

"But you disagree. Of course."

Ultimately, Gale is focused on winning the war and Katniss is focused on having everyone come out of this alive. She reaches up and places her hand against his cheek. Gale's face is so familiar, but he is a stranger now.

"I feel like I don't know who you are anymore."

"I feel like I never did know who you are."

Then he kisses her as passionately as possible, as if to compensate for all the passion that they've been lacking lately. They both desperately want this to work, but deep down, they both know it won't.

He pulls away and sighs one last time dejectedly. He awkwardly pats her on the shoulder and starts to walk away. Suddenly, he stops and says without turning around:

"There are others, you know. You are not my only…option."

She twists the ring on her finger around and around.

"Same."

-::-

The attack on the Nut is successful. Thankfully, instead of killing all the trapped captives, the rebels are taking them as prisoners of war. As the rebels lead the district citizens out of the mountain, a fight breaks out that quickly escalates to a full-out battle. The rebels quickly arm themselves, Boggs is screaming for the District 13 team to retreat, and a little girl with blonde pigtails gets lost in the chaos.

Then, Prim runs among the rebel fighters begging them to lower their weapons.

Then, Prim runs to the survivors begging for a ceasefire. _No one else is to die. The enemy is the Capitol, remember?_

Then, Prim gets shot.

-::-

She wakes up back in District 13 in the hospital section. There's something attached to her arm and it's making everything feel numb and painless…Someone opens the door. A chair creaks beside her bed and then suddenly the thing yanked out of her arm. The numbness goes away. And now she hurts. She opens her eyes.

"Sorry, Prim, but you wouldn't mind sharing, would you? They cut me off."

It's Johanna. Prim blinks a few times to clear her vision and watches Johanna hook Prim's bag of morphine into her arm. She wanted to protest that no, she doesn't want to share because she hurts a lot and she was had been _shot_, but Johanna still looks traumatized from the Capitol, so Prim lets her. Besides, the morphine reminds her of Sapphire and that makes her sad.

Johanna had admitted that the Capitol hijacked her and Annie and, even now, she is a little confused what is reality and what is fiction. Finnick invented a game called Real or Not Real where Annie and Johanna talk about their memories and others tell them if it actually happened or if it was just the Capitol's brainwashing.

For a while, as Prim winces in pain and Johanna tries to forget hers, they play the Real or Not Real game:

"We were allies during the Quarter Quell."

"Real."

"You tried to kill me during the Quarter Quell."

"Not real."

"Annie and I tried to run the wire down to the water."

"Real."

"Brutus cut the wire."

"Real."

"…then how did the arena explode?"

Prim has to swallow back fresh tears. She hasn't let herself think about Haymitch ever since his death, simply because she has already lost so many others and losing Haymitch is unconceivable. But here with Johanna, Prim is forced to relive the moment. Prim explains how Haymitch ended his own life in order to save the rest of them. The worst part is that she could've stopped him. She had stared at him for such a long time wondering what he was doing. Why had she simply stood there and _wondered_? Why didn't she go and _ask _and _prevent _and _save_?

Johanna nods solemnly and pats Prim's hands.

"Back in the arena, Haymitch, Annie, and I were stuck with the jabberjays."

"Real."

"Do you know what I heard?"

"Well, nothing. The Capitol killed everyone you loved. That's why you weren't affected."

"Right, but the Capitol killed everyone Haymitch loved too, you know."

Prim now vividly remembers Haymitch's pained expression as he was trapped in the jungle with the jabberjays. And she realizes Johanna is right. Haymitch didn't have anyone else. Ever since Prim could remember, Haymitch Abernathy has lived alone up in the Victor's Village. But then the question still remains:

"Who did Haymitch hear?"

"_You_, Prim. The screams in the jungle were yours."

"It was me? …real or not real?"

"Real."

-::-

Annie and Finnick get married and it's beautiful. Prim gets to be a bridesmaid. Peeta decorates a cake. The ceremony is gorgeous and afterwards, they do a traditional District 4 dance. Annie pulls Prim in to join the dance, who then pulls in Katniss and Johanna, then Peeta and Gale and Boggs and Beetee until everyone is leaping and twirling to the music. They all laugh. And it's almost strange, because they haven't laughed in a long time.

Afterwards, most people had retreated to their rooms and the rebel leaders and camera crew had gone back to Command to edit the wedding footage into a new propos. The newlyweds remain on the dance floor, holding each other tight and rocking to the music that's no longer playing. Prim sits off to the side watching them, finding a certain serenity in Finnick and Annie's love. Katniss comes and sits down beside her. Prim rests her head on Katniss's shoulder and lets herself pretend she's still the naïve little girl she used to be, who got scared by bad dreams that can't even compare to her nightmares now, who felt perfectly safe in her sister's arms, back when nothing could harm her as long as Katniss kept singing. If only all that were still true. If only Katniss's lullaby could stop a bloody revolution.

"They're sending me to the Capitol."

"I know. I'm going with you."

"It's ending soon, isn't it Katniss? The rebels have control of all the districts now. There's only the Capitol left standing."

"Yeah."

"Peeta says we can't afford to lose."

"I think Peeta is right. We win or we die, simple as that."

Prim lifts her head and looks her older sister in the eye.

"You know, everyone says I started the revolution and I'm the Mockingjay. But I think it really started when I got reaped for the Hunger Games and you tried to volunteer for me. You were the first spark."

Katniss smiles wistfully and kisses Prim's forehead.

"I think all the time about how things might be different if I had gone to the Hunger Games instead."

"And?"

"And every time, I think it wouldn't have mattered. No matter who went to the games or who became the Mockingjay, it would have ended the same. I just wish you didn't have to suffer through two Hunger Games."

"You think _everything _would have turned out the same? We would still be here in District 13."

"Yes."

"The revolution would still happen?"

"Of course."

"You would still be engaged to Gale?"

"I…"

Prim smirks, victorious, and the two sisters laugh. In the distance, the new Mr. and Mrs. Odair keep slowly spinning under the dim light.

-::-

They begin training for the advance to the Capitol. They study the street layout of the Capitol and simulate the fighting and train with weapons and the cameras are still pointed at her all the time and Prim can't help finding everything so familiar. Did she not escape the Hunger Games after all?

A special squad is assembled to accompany Prim in the final advance on the Capitol. Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Finnick, and Boggs, along with Homes, Jackson, sisters Leeg 1 and 2, Mitchell, and the film crew Cressida, Messalla, and brothers Castor and Pollux. That's fourteen people whose duty is to protect Prim, with four of them filming her every move along the way.

To be honest, Primrose Everdeen is just so tired. To be honest, she hasn't had a good night's sleep in years.

As they fly to the Capitol for the final battle, Plutarch passes out small black pills to the entire team. _Made of nightlock_, he explains. _Suicide as a last resort in case you are captured. _And there, holding the pill, something overcomes Prim. She can't stop staring at the small black pill. She has this irrational urge—like when you by the edge of a bridge and have this irrational urge to jump, like when you sit by the fire and have this irrational urge to reach for the flames, like when you see a knife and have this irrational urge to run your finger down the sharp blade—to put it to her mouth. But then Katniss ushers Prim in a different direction to settle some final logistics and the trance is broken. Prim puts the pill in her belt and doesn't think about it ever again.

-::-

It all goes well and according to plan. Charge the Capitol, dodge planted pods, get good shots of Prim in action. They aren't even _really _fighting anyway, all the frontline battles are being manned by the other rebel squads. Team Mockingjay over here is just a pretty show for the folks back home.

They joke. They laugh. They reenact moments if the crew didn't get a good angle. After a few days, it almost feels like they're actors on set, not soldiers at war.

But then Boggs accidentally steps on a planted bomb. And this time, they can't rewind and do it over.

After that, a series of other bombs go off and jolts everyone back to reality. They all scramble away to find shelter. Prim tries to tend to Boggs, but Peeta stops her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pushing her away. _It's too late, Prim, I'm sorry._ Gale and Finnick break into a random nearby house and usher everyone in. Before Katniss can follow inside, however, Homes grabs her arm and leads her back to when Boggs lay, bleeding on the ground.

"He insists on speaking with you."

Confused, Katniss crouches down beside Boggs. He reaches a shaky arm towards Katniss and she immediately brings her hand to him, thinking he wanted to hold her hand. Instead, she feels a small metal device being transferred from him bloody hand to hers. It's the Holo, a map of the Capitol that only Boggs had access to as commander of the squad. She takes it from him and doesn't understand.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

More bombs go off. One detonates extremely close to Mitchell, causing him to lose balance and fall over, activating another pod. It triggers a dark ominous wave over the streets while Mitchell gets entrapped in a net.

Boggs takes a breath and winces with pain. It hurts Katniss to watch him suffer like this. Behind her, Gale is screaming for her to hurry up, but she clutches onto the Holo and leans in close to hear Boggs's last words.

"Katniss…you can see the truth. You know who the real enemy is. Don't trust anyone."

Then his body falls slack. Katniss somehow manages to stumble onto her feet and run through the open door into the house without any further accidents. After she arrives, everyone is still staring out the door behind her, waiting for Mitchell to appear, but Katniss sadly shakes her head.

-::-

They stake out in the first house for a while, then run to another a few blocks away. Just in time too, because the Capitol bombs the first house and tries to convince the public that Prim and the team are all dead. For some reason, all of their radios that were connected back to Plutarch, Beetee, and District 13 malfunctions so they have no way of reporting back to leaders that they are, in fact, still alive. President Coin makes a grave public announcement mourning the death of the Mockingjay, but she seamlessly transitions her eulogy into a revolutionary rally calling all rebels to arms in a final storming of the Capitol.

To their surprise, it really works.

The rebel forces at outside the Capitol quadruples in size overnight as people arrive from the districts. On the television screen, they watch as the rebels determinedly march on while they hide out, assumed to be dead.

That's when Prim realizes she's of no better use alive than dead. Isn't this what they've told her all along? Panem doesn't need Primrose Everdeen; Panem needs the idea of a Mockingjay to unify them under a common goal. Prim is the face of the revolution, but only that—a face.

So then, what's the point?

-::-

Three nights. They've been hiding in this house for three days and haven't come in contact with a single soul. Their main concern isn't being attacked, it's to get the hell out of here.

"What are you doing still up?"

Peeta sits down beside Katniss. She is leaning against the far wall, zooming in and out of the Capitol streets on the Holo. The glow from the Holo illuminates both her faces in half shadows in the night and it's hauntingly beautiful.

"Boggs's last words keep looping through my mind. I can't figure out what he wanted me to do. He said I knew who the real enemy is, but what does that mean?"

Katniss shakes her head and hands the Holo to Peeta. She rubs her hands over her tired eyes.

"Gale thinks Boggs was referring to President Snow."

"I guess that makes sense. But what are you going to do about President Snow?"

"…kill him?"

"_What?_"

"I know, that was my reaction too. But Gale is convinced that's what Boggs meant. Why else would he give the Holo to me? I'm the best shot in the squad. Beetee made you a custom-designed arrow. And I've kept a low profile. No one really knows the Mockingjay's older sister. It's perfect. The squad was never meant to fight, but maybe I can finish the war."

"Katniss, are you sure about this?"

She sighs and gives him this look. It's the same look he sees in everyone's eyes. Prim, Gale, Finnick. Peeta's own reflection. They are just so _exhausted_; they are way past the point of last resorts now.

"Of course not. But we're getting pretty desperate now."

-::-

The next day, Peeta sees Katniss and Gale standing away from the rest of the squad whispering urgently to one another.

That night, Peeta wakes up to the sound of a bag ruffling. He turns to see the unmistakable silhouette of Katniss gathering her stuff. She freezes when she notices Peeta wake. He squints and back towards the front door, he can make out the shape of Gale's body. They both know it's exactly what it looks like. Peeta glances down at where Prim is asleep beside him, like a fallen angel trapped in hell, then he looks back up at Katniss with her bow hung across her shoulders, like she's ready to seek revenge on all the demons. And he nods, for how could he not honor her heroism? How could he not let her go?

"Take care of my sister."

And just like that, she is gone.

It's funny, _take care of my sister_ were the first words Katniss had ever spoken to him back at the first Hunger Games. Now he prays those won't be the last words she ever speaks to him.

-::-

(Although, he must admit, it would make a killer full circle ending.)

-::-

There's confusion when everyone wakes and the squad finds itself two more people short. Jackson is furious when she finds out Katniss took the Holo. Castor scoffs and makes a snide comment, _maybe those two damn kids got scared and ran. _Peeta remains oddly silent. Finnick and Cressida however are convinced Katniss and Gale would never do anything so selfish and they surely have a real reason for breaking away from the team. Prim thinks so too, but she just can't believe Katniss and Gale would go away without saying goodbye.

What if she never sees them—_No. _No, don't think like that. She will definitely see them again, after this is all over. Right?

The squad decides that they cannot spend another day in that house and plan for a retreat. But that's more difficult than anticipated. The streets are rigged with pods and constant battle between the rebels and the last of the Peacekeepers. The only way out…was _down._ They head deep into the earth and wander through the Capitol underground. Thankfully, Pollux has knowledge of the paths from his experience working down here as an Avox. For hours, they walk down cold, dark tunnels with no light at the end of them. The camera crew has long since stopped filming in this despairing setting.

This isn't a picturesque show anymore. This isn't a rebellion either. And this isn't even a game. This is reality in the cruelest form.

A draft blows upon them and Prim shivers.

Wait.

There's a draft.

The others notice too. They all stop and glance at the looming darkness behind them. If there is a draft of cold air, that means somewhere nearby, a door or latch had opened. Finnick takes a few steps and holds his light up high to peer down the tunnel. Suddenly, Peeta turns his head sharply towards a different tunnel to their right.

"Do you hear that?"

A soft, shrill, airy whisper. Prim had originally thought it was just the echo of the draft against the tunnel walls. But now the sound is getting louder and it was distinctly a voice, uttering a single word repeatedly. _Primrose. Primrose. Primrose, Primrose, Primrose, PrimrosePrimrosePrimrosePrim rose…_ It seems they don't' believe her to be dead after all. She shivers again, but this time not from the cold.

The chant now crescendos and a patter of footsteps can be heard. Finnick retreats hurriedly, grabs Prim by the hand, and sprints off down the tunnel away from the approaching monstrosity.

"Run!"

They all take off sprinting down the dim corridors. Their legs are already exhausted from a day's worth of walking, but they push on. Pollux does his best to help them navigate. Then, they learn the hard way that the Capitol has planted pods underground as well. Messalla accidentally steps on one and it triggers a bright beam of light that entraps his body inside. To the others' horror, his body hardens into wax and then simply melts away. Prim is immobilized as she watches yet someone else die before her eyes, helpless as always, and inarguably because of her. In the golden light, they can clearly see the things chasing after them and whispering her name. Pale, slim, white lizard muttations, slithering towards them at incredulous speed.

Finnick and Castor are yelling at Prim to run, but she is so overwhelmed with guilt and grief and fear. It's happening yet again. People keep dying, they are all still dying and dying and oh, why can't this all be over?

Finally, Peeta comes and picks Prim up around her waist and runs after the squad carrying her. She peers over Peeta's shoulder and watches as the mutts close in on them.

Up ahead, Pollux leads them up a set of ladders towards the surface. Climbing up takes an excruciating amount of time. Pollux goes up first and then they all help Prim up. She complains that they need to stop giving her priority treatment and start fending for themselves instead of putting her first because all that accomplishes is getting them killed while Prim is forced to witness the people she cares about die and die again. But they don't listen, of course. As the others climb up onto the upper level one at a time, Jackson and the two Leeg sisters stay behind trying to combat the first oncoming mutts with their weapons. After Homes makes it up, he motions for everyone to follow Pollux down the path and up the final set of ladders to reach the surface. Prim is terribly confused.

"What about the others?"

Homes can't look her in the eyes.

"Buying us time."

They reach the final trapdoor that leads them aboveground. Unfortunately, there is no ladder there at all. Instead, Peeta has to jump and pull himself up before reaching down to help the others up. It's a long tedious process. Prim is too short to reach Peeta's outstretched arms, so Finnick has to boost her up. Next, Peeta pulls Cressida up. By this time, the first of the mutts have crawled up the first ladder onto the landing and now charge at them with full ferocity. Jackson, Leeg 1, and Leeg 2 bought them time alright, but not enough. Homes and Finnick fend off the mutts but they're horribly outnumbered and largely unprepared. Pollux wants to go help them, but Castor stops him. Castor lifts Pollux up while Peeta and Cressida pull and they get him through the trapdoor. Pollux is the fourth one up. And he would be the last.

Once he has made it to the surface, Pollux immediately turns back and reaches down for his brother, but Castor has already left to join the effort combating the mutts. Homes is already badly wounded and gradually becoming enveloped by the lizards. When Castor reaches them, he says something to Finnick and gestures for him to go. Gale and Pollux both extend their arms toward Finnick and Prim screams his name. Her heart races faster than the muttation footsteps

Finnick takes a running start and leaps up, grabbing ahold of Peeta and Pollux's arms. He manages to get half a head out the trapdoor when he slips and falls back down into the tunnel. When he gets back up, he has a limp in his leg and Prim buries her face in her hands, shaking with anxiety. She hears Homes cry out before his voice is completely drowned out by the mutts, followed shortly by a similar fate to Castor. The endless stream of mutts crawl over Homes and Castor's bodies and begin attacking Finnick.

Twice he grabs onto Peeta's hands. Twice he is pulled back down by the mutts.

The third time, Finnick has a small black object in his hand.

"Beetee gave me something, just in case of emergencies."

Prim stares at the object and the realization hits her square in the gut. She knows exactly what it is. She had watched Kenton rewire twenty-four of them back in the first Hunger Games.

"No! Finnick, what are you doing?!"

But he pays her no attention. He presses a button on the bomb and a light begins to blink.

"You might want to back up."

Peeta and Cressida both pull Prim back and it's the same routine time and time again, people holding Prim back when all she wants to do is help. This time, she manages to wriggle out of their grasp. She rushes forward to the edge of the trapdoor and falls to her knees before Finnick. The lizards are threatening to pull him down once more so Prim grabs onto his hand tightly.

"Come on, Finnick, you don't have to do this. We can get you out and we can—"

He interrupts her by kissing the back of her hand that is tightly clutching his. He's crying and she's crying and they only have seconds before the lizard mutts overpower him.

"Tell Annie I love her, okay? Will you do that for me?"

Prim nods earnestly. She thinks about poor Annie Cresta back in District 13 and how they were just married and how this will break her heart. How this will break everyone's hearts.

"Goodbye, pretty flower."

She has to let go of his hand now. She stumbles backwards and watches as Finnick throws the bomb deep into the tunnel just as his body sinks down as the lizards pull him under. The trapdoor slams shut and the Capitol is silent for one, two, three seconds before the explosion. The entire block seems to shake from impact. Just like that, she lost seven people. Just like that, she lost Finnick Odair.

-::-

For some reason, the streets are quite crowded with Capitol citizens. Peeta half-carries Prim as they wind through the streets, partly to shield Prim's recognizable face from the masses and partly because Prim can barely walk—she is shattered from the world taking her loved ones away from her, each death like a knife repeatedly stabbing her fragile heart. Too much manhandling and she simply isn't able to hold herself together anymore. Too many wounds and her heart will simply bleed dry. She feels so unbelievably hollow.

Cressida takes them to her friend Tigris's shop where they can rest and regroup. Tigris feeds them some food and they watch some television footage of recent fights between the rebel and Capitol forces. The rebels are undoubtedly winning, closing in on the Capitol from all sides so that they are in control of the whole city save for the innermost few blocks where the president's mansion is. That explains the flight of Capitol citizens pouring out of their doors as they seek refuge together in the streets. The news cuts to Capitol children sitting huddled together on the sidewalk, sharing a measly roll of bread. Prim watches and sees no difference from the starving kids back in District 12 who used to do the same thing.

Then, to their surprise, a picture of Katniss and Gale appear on screen. A Capitol official is making a statement that _Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne are alive and a threat to the very sanctity of the nation and therefore must be captured by all means. If you have seen these two, please alert Capitol officials immediately. _Prim wonders what they could have done to become Panem's most wanted, especially when the entire nation is fighting a revolutionary war.

There was also something else very off about the video and it is Cressida who finally figures it out:

"Strange, why didn't Snow give the announcement?"

-::-

They finally fix the radio connection and communicate back to District 13 that, good news, they are still all alive. From what they understand from the snippets of television news and patchy radio conferences with Plutarch, the rebels are most likely going to win this thing. Which is a great miracle, since Prim had lost hope in the cause a long time ago. They are instructed to make their way out into the streets. Backup is arriving from District 13 to pick them up soon. Prim says, _we can't leave without Katniss and Gale_, and everyone nods with a tight smile, the kind of expression adults give little kids when they agree to something they wholeheartedly disagree with.

Tigris loans them fur coats and hats to hide behind and then slowly assimilate themselves into the crowded Capitol streets. Cressida and Pollux head out first. Then, after they are precisely one block away, Prim follows out. Peeta is the last to leave the store, precisely one block behind Prim. Keep your head down, don't look anyone in the eye, follow Cressida and Pollux, and wait for the hovercraft. Easy. Perfectly manageable.

Prim thinks she is doing so well until she hears someone say her name. She freezes and clutches her three layers of fur. Oh no. How could this be? She had been staring at Pollux's feet this whole time. Her outfit covered all but a small crevice for her eyes and the tip of her nose. And yet she has been compromised.

But then she listens to the voice calling her name again and fear is replaced by joy. It's Katniss! Of course her older sister would be the only person who could identify Prim in this superfluous disguise. Prim spins around to see Katniss run straight to her and envelop her in her arms. Katniss pushes some of the fur away from Prim's face and laughs. She reaches behind Prim and tugs on the end of her shirt that had been sticking out behind the coat.

"I knew it was you, Ducky."

Prim is rendered speechless. This is real. Katniss is back, and there's Gale a few feet behind her. They are all going to be saved. They are going to win this war. It's really all going to be over. Can she dare believe it?

"Katniss, where did you go?"

Katniss guides Prim over into a small ally between two apartments. The two Everdeen sisters are the same height now, so Katniss no longer needs to kneel when she wants to look Prim in the eye as she tells her something important.

"President Snow is dead."

-::-

It happened something like this.

They snuck into the mansion dressed as part of the film crew. It's almost pathetic; the Capitol fell for the same trick twice in a row. Katniss and Gale found an inner passageway used by Avox servants and wandered through the inside of the mansion until they found Snow's room. Taking out the guards was difficult and in the end, Gale had to create a distraction, sprinting down the hallways and leading the guards in a near-death chase through the mansion. After that, it's just Katniss against the president, face to face, her with a drawn bow and arrow and him with only a rose. He never stood a chance.

But the longer Katniss stood before Coriolanus Snow, the more she lost the will to shoot. He spoke to her in his cool, unnerving voice:

"Ah, Miss Everdeen. The one who tried to volunteer for her baby sister. You are angry at me for what I've done to Primrose. So, shoot me. What are you waiting for?"

She still could not. Her hand began to shake.

"But you can't, can you? Because you know it will accomplish nothing."

By that point, Gale had returned. No guards were in pursuit, so evidently Gale had killed them all. And here was Katniss, unable to kill even one defenseless old man. Snow continued, ignoring Gale's interruption. He chuckles which turned into a violent cough. _He's already dying_, Katniss thinks.

"Tell me, do you really believe your other president is any better than I am?"

Gale's gaze flickers between Snow's smug snarl and Katniss's indecisive frown.

"Katniss, don't listen to him, he's just trying to get inside your head."

Snow coughed once more.

"No, boy. Let's not lie to each other anymore. It's quite pointless, don't you agree?"

Then, because Katniss is obviously incapable, Gale pulls out his own bow and arrow and shoots President Snow right in the center of his chest.

-::-

Out of the quiet chatter among the Capitol streets, three shots are fired. Chaos ensues. Perhaps the Peacekeepers shot first, perhaps the rebels shot first, but regardless, they are seconds away from a bloodbath worthy of any Hunger Games. Gale tries to get closer to Katniss and Prim but he gets caught in the flow of bodies and gets separated. Peeta is still a block away. Prim holds onto Katniss's hand and suddenly, it's just the two of them against the world again, like old ties back in the starving days in the Seam. They push against the stream of citizens and refugees. Prim keeps an eye to the sky, watching for any hovercrafts to come take them home.

They make it about halfway across the road when the road itself breaks in half.

Prim and Katniss begin to fall into the newly opened abyss. This must be the last pod, the Capitol's final weapon to fend off the rebel attacks. They try to run but the incline increases and they're falling, falling, falling. Prim grabs onto the edge of the broken asphalt road while Katniss holds onto the doorway threshold of a house, both dangling over what appears to be an endless pit to the center of the earth where poor citizens and rebels alike are falling to their doom. Behind the sheer terror of the situation, Prim also feels a certain sense of déjà vu. How many times has Prim been hanging by a thread on the edge of life and death?

("Hang on, Prim!" Katniss calls. "Please hang on!")

It's all probability in the end—one can only cheat death so many times before one actually dies.

Peeta is the first to free himself from the mob. He sprints towards them, but anyone can do the calculation. At the rate both Prim and Katniss are slipping, Peeta only has time to save one of them. It's the classic love-testing hypothetical scenario come to life. And to Prim's utter surprise…he rushes straight for her. He saves Prim instead of Katniss. The little girl who glowed over her beautiful older sister whom he's loved since forever. Prim feels something usually described as "the ground disappearing under her feet" but that isn't exactly applicable here. Peeta pulls Prim up to safety and wraps his arms tightly around her, kissing the top of her head. She tries to remember how to breathe.

Thankfully, Gale manages to catch Katniss just before she slips. She gets a better grip on the threshold, but Gale struggles to pull her up. As if it wasn't bad enough, the door opens above Katniss and Peacekeepers step out. Gale immediately stands up and backs away but the Peacekeepers get a hold of Gale and drag the wanted criminal away. Below, Katniss remains undetected, still holding on.

Now Peeta holds Prim at arm's length and stares intently in her eyes as he talks.

"I have to go save Katniss."

And the ground reappears under Prim's feet.

"Oh. Right. I'll help you."

"No, it's too dangerous by the abyss. Prim, I need you to run."

"Run?"

"As fast as you can. Anywhere but here. Wait for Plutarch and the others to arrive."

She nods vigorously. Peeta stands to go towards Katniss but something makes Prim reach out and grab his hand to stop him. Something about this moment seems penultimate and climactic.

She kisses him.

Her first, sweet, beautiful kiss. (She'd like to think it is his first kiss too, but she knows it's not.) After the kiss, he looks shocked and bit dazed, but his face breaks out into a huge grin. He heads back into the fight to save Katniss and she turns to run.

-::-

"_If anyone tries to kill you, you just run as fast as you can. Do that for me, okay Prim? You're going to live. Oh Prim, you're going to live."_

"_I'm going to live."_

-::-

It all happens so fast.

Prim runs, as fast as she can, and ends up in front of Snow's mansion. In front, the children stand, scared out of their minds, huddling to each other in mutual defenselessness. Prim chances a look back over her shoulder and is reminded that no one else is there. They're all gone. She's the only one left now. Finnick is dead. Boggs is dead. Castor and Homes and Jackson are all dead. Gale is probably still alive but who knows for how much longer. And Peeta and Katniss are stuck in the middle of the last battle.

There are people rushing in every direction and she lets herself be lost in the mobile crowd. She's running but she doesn't know what to do. She's a puppet with all her strings cut for the first time and she is utterly helpless. Mockingjays only repeat the songs they hear; they can't sing on their own.

Then, the hovercraft appears in the sky and Prim's heart swells in relief. Finally, she can go home. However, it positions directly above the mansion. Maybe they are trying to save the children first? That makes sense. But instead of dropping a ladder, the hovercraft dispenses several parachutes the same shade of silver as the ones back in the games. Maybe they are provisions and aid? The children reach for them because they have nothing left. Prim slowly inches towards them, watching them trying to open the packages.

Then, the hovercraft disappears.

Then, Prim knows that something is not right.

Then—

(It's terrible. She screams but no sound comes out. _No, no, no, no, no!_)

As the smoke clears, the sound of children's cries fill the air. Prim does the first thing she thinks of. She runs and jumps over the gate and rushes to the bleeding children's aid. Beside her, several others do the same. Prim sees that they are rebel medics with aid kits so she grabs some supplies and tries to do something, anything. A little boy holds onto Prim's hand and doesn't let go with his last dying strength. Prim shakily applies a bandage to his head but she knows it's too little too late. Around her, little broken bodies lay strewn across the blood-stained front lawn of the president's mansion. She cries because it's everything she was afraid of in this war: no one would win and everyone would die.

The little boy's eyes are losing focus and Prim wraps her arms around him, whispering kind words she desperately means. _I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. But it's okay, it's all over now._

Then, the hovercraft reappears.

Then, something falls from the sky.

Then, she realizes just how true her words actually were. _It's okay, it's all over now._

In the last second of her life, Prim clutches the little boy in her arms and shields his small body with her own small body in a futile attempt to protect him from the inevitable fate. She looks up at the gray sky in this cruel world. With a weird sense of finality, she stares death in the eye, like she's done more times than any thirteen-year-old girl should, but this time, she is not afraid. This time, she feels a certain _relief_. Of course, no one is here to save her this time. And she's okay. Because to be honest, she is just so tired. She just wants this all to end.

She hates the Hunger Games. She hates the Capitol. She hates President Snow. She hates President Coin. She hates the rebels. But most of all, she hates herself for believing, for hoping, for fighting, for feeding the flame that would ultimately consume herself.

It's time. The precious little girl who glowed has finally burned out. The Mockingjay has sung her last song.

-::-

Then, Prim doesn't come back.

-::-

Peeta opens his eyes and finds himself in a strange room. There is a large window by his bed and outside, the sun shines across a cloudless sky. There's peace. There's quiet.

Then he remembers the fight in the broken street. He remembers pulling Katniss up and guiding her to the edge of the crowd. He remembers the hovercraft, he remembers the first bomb and he remembers the second bomb. He remembers the force of the two explosions knocking him down to the ground. And finally, he remembers watching Prim run away, right towards the direction of where the bombings happened.

Ignoring his searing headache and pain in his shoulder, Peeta leaps from his bed and runs out his room. It takes a few seconds for him to gather his bearings and realize he is inside Snow's mansion. He notices a few officials he recognizes from District 13 walk down the corridor into a main room, so he hurriedly follows them inside. President Coin, Plutarch, Beetee, and Paylor are seated around a large table in the middle of a discussion. Other people mill around the room, conversing in quiet voices and concerned expressions. On a couch in the side of the room, Johanna and Annie sit on either side of Mrs. Everdeen, who buries her face in her hands.

Everyone stops when Peeta steps inside. For a long while, no one says anything, they just stare. Finally, Annie walks over to him and silently gives him a hug. Over Annie's thin shoulders, Peeta makes eye contact with Plutarch, who ever so slightly shakes his head sadly. And that's when Peeta knew. It is everything he was afraid of.

He asks the only question left to ask:

"Does Katniss know yet?"

That evokes another sharp sob from Mrs. Everdeen. Johanna awkwardly pats the older woman on the knee, trying to offer condolence but not sure how. Again, everyone looks away and Plutarch only shakes his head. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news anymore.

Annie takes Peeta by the hand and leads him out the room and down a different hall.

"Let's go see Katniss. Maybe she's awake now."

They walk past Gale's room, where he is surrounded by his family. Next they pass Cressida and Pollux's rooms, which are both heartbreakingly devoid of any family members or visitors. The fourth room is Katniss's and when they enter, she begins to stir in her sleep. Her eyelids flutter a few times before they open completely. She glances around the bright room before her gaze focuses on Peeta and Annie.

"Hey."

"Hi Katniss, how are you feeling?"

"Okay. Still alive, at least."

Her comment causes a pang right in his gut as he thinks about the news he must eventually give.

"Where's Prim? Is she okay?"

Oh god. He feels tears welling in his eyes and surely Katniss will be able to tell something's wrong if he starts crying.

As if it wasn't bad enough, Annie replies with a genuine smile:

"Prim is with Finnick now."

Katniss nods and begins to sit up and Peeta realizes that not only is Katniss unaware her little sister is dead, she is also unaware Finnick had been dealt the same fate. She must think Prim and Finnick are simply sitting in another room, waiting for her. Just as she pulls her covers down, Peeta finally finds the strength to reach out and stop her.

"No, Katniss. They're—they're not here."

"Where are they?"

The tears are trailing down his face now. Beside him, Annie sniffles as she starts crying too. He can see Katniss's breath speed up and get hitched in her throat, and he just knows that she knows, yet she grabs both of his hands with hers and doesn't look away. She needs confirmation. She needs him to say it.

"I'm so sorry. Prim…she's gone."

-::-

Johanna is the one who winds up telling Katniss about the hovercraft and the bombs.

"It was arranged by Coin. First bomb the children, and then when all the people rush in to help the children, drop the second bomb. It didn't matter if rebels got killed in the process too. Some cruel strategy. Effective, though."

"I thought they said it was a Capitol hovercraft."

"Well of course they're going to say that. So many people died and suffered in this war. It's so much easier to blame it all on the past regime that's been overthrown rather than admit the new regime is already corrupted before it began."

-::-

Katniss finds Gale in an excluded corridor. They both speak at the same time.

"I've been looking for you."

Katniss motions for Gale to go first. He runs a hand through his hair and his eyebrows are knit together in a telltale sign of stress. He reaches over and grabs Katniss's left hand, absentmindedly twisting the ring on her finger.

"You still want to get married next month?"

To be honest, she had already forgotten that they had originally set the wedding date for next month. It's almost comical how much things can change in the course of a year, how life can turn on its head, how the person you once loved became a distant stranger. Instead of answering him, she asks what she came looking for Gale for.

"Were the final two bombs your idea?"

Gale's eyes widen and he drops his hold of Katniss's hand. That was not the response he was expecting. But then again, maybe that response was more than answer enough to his question.

"I did not have anything to do with those bombings. I did not suggest it and if I had known about it, I would've been completely against—"

"But it was you who came up with the idea in the first place."

"…yes, but Katniss, that was months ago."

"It was still your idea."

And really, she should be fair. Gale did not kill Prim. Gale would never kill Prim. But if Gale had never suggested such a ruthless strategy, then Coin would never have kept the idea in the back of her mind, she would never have remembered it in the final days of the war, she would never have ordered the hovercraft to bomb the mansion, and maybe Prim would never have died. And really, she should be fair. But she can't. Every time she looks at her fiancé now, all she can think is that this is the man who indirectly murdered her sister.

-::-

Peeta could not believe his ears. When Plutarch called him into an urgent meeting and he sat down at the table beside all the other remaining victors (they are only a measly lot of four now: Peeta, Annie, Johanna, and Beetee), the last thing he expected was a vote on whether or not the Hunger Games should _continue. _President Coin presents the case like it's the most logical conclusion in the world:

"After all the hardship the Capitol had put us through, we should even the score and conduct one final Hunger Games and throw the Capitol children into the arena. It's only fair."

Before Peeta could even form this outrageousness into words, Johanna voices her vote. And she _agrees_. Peeta blatantly gawks at her with a stunned, disgusted face. She rolls her eyes at him.

"Don't look at me like that, Bread Boy. I don't want this all to be for nothing."

Peeta is practically ready to explode. But again, he gets interrupted, this time by Annie. She votes no and Peeta sighs in brief relief. Sometimes, it's the mad ones who can see the truth most clearly. Peeta gives a vehement no, followed by Beetee. Annie adds that if Finnick were here, he would vote no as well. President Coin, obviously displeased by the majority vote, simply nods curtly and dismisses them.

-::-

The revelation occurs at the very last second, when Katniss stands beside Peeta in the balcony of the mansion, overlooking the rest of the people in the Capitol below. President Coin stands before them, addressing the crowd in celebratory words and gregarious hand gestures.

"We have done it, Panem. We have brought down the monstrosity and oppression. From this day on, we will construct a new Panem."

Something clicks into place in Katniss's mind. Everything about President Coin…is a lie. But Katniss knew it all along, didn't she? She never trusted Coin from the beginning.

"Today, we shall honor all our fallen friends and heroes. In particular, let us mourn the death of our Mockingjay. Primrose and the others had actually survived the first bombing in the Capitol, but she was sadly victim to the final bombings before the mansion. As new president, I officially declare today to be Primrose Everdeen Day to commemorate our beloved Mockingjay."

Prim was not an unfortunate casualty. Coin planned the final bombings in the first place. In fact—oh god. Did Coin _intentionally _try to kill Prim? She must have known that after they won the war, more people would be willing to follow Prim than herself, and Prim, like her sister, had never been too keen with the District 13 president. Was she afraid she would not have Prim's support and thus unable to become the new president of Panem? Is that really her only ultimate objective? She had known they were alive and that they were waiting for rescue on the Capitol streets. Did she send the bombs not _despite _Prim's presence at the scene, but _because _of Prim's presence?

Did President Coin kill Prim?

_Tell me, _Snow had said,_ do you really believe your other president is any better than I am?_

_They're not telling you the truth_, Johanna had said._ President Coin is only using you so she can take over Panem._

_You can see the truth, _Boggs had said._ You know who the real enemy is_.

And she realizes they killed the wrong president.

-::-

Katniss shoots Coin in the middle of her speech.

-::-

There's a trial. Plutarch somehow gets Katniss released of all charges on account of post-traumatic stress disorder for losing Prim. It's a completely false excuse, but Katniss doesn't fight it. She doesn't want to fight ever again. Plutarch sends her home to District 12 where they have begun reconstruction. Her mom doesn't return with her; home is filled with too many memories now and she can't stand it. Haymitch isn't there anymore; he's dead. Gale goes to District 2 with his family instead; he can't face Katniss and be reminded of their marriage that never happened. And Peeta remains in the Capitol; he's trying to build a new better nation with the new remaining leaders left alive.

It's just Katniss Everdeen in the Victor's Village, feeling more alone than ever.

One day, to better cope with all the good ghosts that haunt her, she starts to make a book of all the people that died. She begins with Prim, then Haymitch, then Finnick, Boggs, Wiress, Sapphire, Cinna, Cato, Kenton, Rue. Every time she writes one name down, she thinks of five more. It's a long process, but it helps.

She wouldn't have even known there was a special broadcast if Greasy Sae hadn't visited and told her. Apparently, they've finally figured something out in the Capitol and are announcing the new leadership. Greasy Sae tells her that its rumored Peeta got appointed to an official position, a Secretary or Chief or Director something, so Katniss turns on the television for the first time since she's returned home.

Commander Paylor is the new president, so she's President Paylor now. Katniss nods at the screen. At least Paylor genuinely cares about the people of Panem. They could do a lot worse than Paylor. The new president gives a short address and immediately, you can sense the difference. The words aren't cleverly scripted lies, there are no hidden agendas, there is only a woman with a sincere smile and kind eyes telling a broken nation that things will get better, she promises. Then, she introduces the rest of the national leaders. Katniss glances down the line and picks out the faces she recognizes: Plutarch, Beetee, and some people from District 13. But nowhere does she see Peeta Mellark. Greasy Sae did say he was part of this, correct?

"And, originally, the new Director of Free Trade was Peeta Mellark, but a few hours ago, we received notice of his resignation…"

Katniss sits up in her seat and leans closer to the screen. Resignation? The boy resigned before his term even began?

There's a cough from behind.

Slowly, Katniss turns around. There, standing in her living room, is the ex-Director of Free Trade himself.

"What are you doing here?"

"You left your door unlocked."

"No, what are you doing here in District 12? Why aren't you _there_?"

She points to the screen. He shrugs and walks a few steps closer.

"I'd rather be here."

"But you could have a position of authority. You could make a difference. You could make history. You gave all that up for…?"

He just gives her a pointed look.

She promptly shuts her mouth. He takes a few more steps closer until he is standing right before her. She looks into his blue eyes and sees the same adoration, just framed by some wrinkles of stress and tiredness. It's hard to believe that after everything that has happened, Peeta could still be in love with her.

She thinks she doesn't deserve him. She doesn't deserve to be happy when so many others are buried six feet under. Hell, she doesn't deserve to be alive.

But she is, and even if it's a mistake of fate, maybe it's something worth cherishing. In this cruel world, happy endings are far and few but every once in a while, one will walk right in through your unlocked front door.

-::-

In the end, it's Peeta and Katniss, back in District 12, just trying to find a new beginning.

Some people are born fighters and some people are born survivors. It doesn't make them any less significant.

-::-

_My name is Primrose Everdeen. I was thirteen years old. This is the story of how I won the Hunger Games and started a revolution, how a nation rose to its feet and got knocked back down to the ground, how heroes died at the hands of villains in disguise. And I hope you always remember._

* * *

super sorry this took forever and a half for me to write. but hey, i totally stayed in my dorm last saturday night to finish this instead of going out with my friends, so that's some real dedication right there.

i already know some of you will be unsatisfied with the ending. just know that this is what i had planned from the beginning, that it would start AU with prim going to the games instead, but it would end the same. it kind of ties back to the many worlds theory (read my wowp story _april 29, 2010 _if you're interested in parallel universes and destiny and all that stuff). prim was always going to die, katniss was always going to end up with peeta. this storyline was just a different means to the end._  
_

anyway, i hope you liked it! even though it's technically a three-shot, i basically rewrote the entire series and i'm exhausted. thanks for reading, my lovelies :)


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